May 6, 2012
Easter 5
John 15:1-8

Dear Friends in Christ,

Spring is the time of the year when a lot of people like to make use of their binoculars.  Binoculars are especially good to take with you on a visit to the park or on a trip in the country.  Looking through them you can see up close many of the wonders of God’s creation — the birds building nests in the trees, squirrels playing in the grass, rabbits chopping off your tulips.  Those things which are far away can be examined up close through binoculars.

Now, if I were to focus these binoculars on you, you might begin to feel a bit uncomfortable.  People don’t like being examined up close.  Maybe you would feel better if I turned them around.  Then you would appear much farther away. A lot of people like to think of God as being far away — distant and far removed from their daily lives.  In fact, there’s even a religious philosophy, called Deism, which pictures God as having created the world and then removed and isolated himself from it.  In fact, there are a lot of Deists around today — people who are uncomfortable with the idea of a God who is close at hand and intimately concerned about their lives.

But the god of the Deists is not the God of the Bible.  The true God is the Triune God — God the Father who created the world and sustains it by His awesome power — God the  Son, the Good Shepherd who came to seek and to save the lost by laying down His life for the sheep — and God the Holy Spirit who strengthens and empowers His Church, through Word and Sacraments, to produce the fruits of faith which are so necessary if we are to be the blessing to others that God has called us to be.  This is the God of the Scriptures — a God who is close at hand, working to strengthen and sustain His people, to comfort them in their afflictions, to help them overcome temptations, to encourage them to greater faith and obedience.

Another aspect of the nearness of God is spoken of in our text for today.  God is like a vine dresser, Jesus says, who goes out to examine close up His vineyard — to tend to the branches, inspecting them to see if they are bearing good fruit.  And the question we should be considering today is:  How am I bearing up under the close inspection and scrutiny of God?  Am I bearing the good fruit of faith, or have I grown cold and lifeless, a worthless branch destined for the flame of destruction?

The image of the vine and the vineyard is an image that was deeply rooted in the history of God’s people, Israel.  The vine was the emblem of the Jewish nation, just as the Maple Leaf is an emblem of Canada.  In the time of Jesus the temple of Herod was symbolically decorated with a great golden vine.  And it was the hopes and dreams of wealthier Jewish families to be able to provide a gold leaf or a branch that could be added to that vine.  In that symbolic way each family could claim its connection to that vine of God’s planting — the children of Israel.

The Old Testament Prophets were aware of the deep symbolism of the vine.  And when they wanted to speak out against the sin and corruption of the people, they made use of this image.  Jeremiah declares:  “Yet I planted you a choice vine, wholly of pure seed.  How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine?”  Ezekiel expresses a similar thought:  “your mother was like a vine in the vineyard transplanted by the water, fruitful and full of branches…but now it is transplanted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.”  And perhaps the most touching description of all is from the prophet Isaiah who says:  “My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.  He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines.  He built a watch tower in it and cut out a wine press as well.  Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, buy it yielded only wild grapes.”

Even then, in Old Testament times, God, the owner of the vineyard, was examining His people, looking for a rich and full harvest of good fruit.  But it was altogether lacking.  And when Jesus says:  “I am the true vine”, what He is really saying is “I am the true Israel — the Israel God intended — the true planting of God — I am the vine that has grown healthy and strong, that accomplishes the will of its planter by producing a rich harvest of good fruit.”  In this vine, Jesus  Christ, there is life and salvation.  In this vine there is goodness and joy.  In this vine there is peace with God and life-giving, fruit-producing power.

And then turning to His disciples, and to you and me, He says:  “You are the branches.”  “I am the Vine and you are the branches and as long as you abide in me things will be the way they should.  My joy will be in you and your joy will be full and overflowing.”  Is your life full of joy?  Is it overflowing with the fruits of God’s Spirit?

What does the vine-dresser find when He examines your life?  He comes to look up close for two things.  First of all he comes to look for broken and severed branches.  Jesus says:  “Every branch of mine that  bears no fruit, he takes away…If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.”  “Apart from me, you can do nothing.”  Jesus is sounding a warning here about trying to produce an effective Christian life without and apart from a close and abiding relationship with Him.  Not only is it difficult to live a good life apart from Christ, it is impossible.  “Without faith”, the Bible says, “it is impossible to please Him.”  Faith is a precious gift of God the Holy Spirit, and it is nurtured and nourished by Christ Himself.  It is the connection of faith that makes the fruit good, for apart form Him we can do nothing.

Your life as a Christian is continually nourished and fed by Jesus Christ the true vine.  How?  Does Jesus feed you through some invisible feeding tube you can’t see?  No.  The way you are fed is by coming to Church, hearing the Gospel and tasting the Gospel in the Lord’s Supper.  It’s that simple. Faith clings to Jesus Christ as you receive Him in the Word and Sacraments. That is concrete and practical.  If you fail to hear the message of the Gospel again and again and again, you cut yourself off from Jesus and from faith itself.  So why do we go to Church?  We go to Church to get fed.

I guess that’s why I’m always amazed at people that make going to Church an optional or occasional thing — something to do if there isn’t anything else to do that morning.   Jesus Himself says, If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  It just isn’t enough to say I read the Bible at home, or I worship at the park or on the boat or at the beach. Remember our lesson from Acts.  The Ethiopian eunuch couldn’t understand the message of the Scriptures until someone preached to Him.  Or remember our lesson from Luke 24 a couple weeks ago.  Jesus’ disciples couldn’t even understand the message until He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.  As Saint Paul says in Romans 10, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing from the Word of Christ.  Faith is not a one-time event that we got at Baptism.

You see, faith must be nourished and strengthened continually by the Word and Sacraments; that’s why Jesus in our text uses the word remain so often.  It could also be translated dwell.  When Jesus dwells in us and we in Him, then and only then can we bear fruit in our lives.  If someone’s life is not bearing the fruit of the Gospel, the problem is that they are not hearing the Gospel in faith. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.

The second thing the gardener looks for are healthy branches that are in need of pruning.  Jesus says:  “every branch of mine that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”  You need to understand something about horticulture to really appreciate what Jesus is saying.  In a vineyard, new grape vines are not permitted to bear any grapes for at least three years.  Each year the branches are pruned so severely that no grapes could possibly grow.  The reason for that is so that the root system of the plant will grow deep into the soil.  In some areas of the world, the roots of a vine reach down to 100 feet or more.

The point Jesus is making here is that troubles and adversity in our lives have a way of driving our roots of faith deeper — so that we will be firmly grounded and established in God’s Word. This pruning is the trials and struggles in our lives.  Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why do tragedies and heartaches happen to Christians?  Doesn’t God love us?  If God really loves me, why do these things keep happening to me?  Everyone has things happen in their life that are hard to understand.  They may be big problems, they may be little, but they all make us ask questions about God and why He lets these things happen to us.  It’s a good question.

Jesus gives us a simple answer, but a deep one that is hard to understand.  Jesus says that the trials and struggles in our lives are God pruning us so that we may bear good fruit in our lives. Martin Luther on this text calls these trials and struggles the manure and pruning clippers of our lives.  If you were a branch of a vine, you must admit that there are things that would happen to you that would be hard to understand.  Why does the gardener keep cutting off limbs and branches?  Why does the gardener keep piling manure up all around me?  It stinks and I don’t like it!  So why does the gardener do these things?  The gardener does these things because He knows what is best for the vine and its branches.  The gardener knows that too many limbs will choke the fruits, and that the vine must be fertilized in order to grow and be fruitful.

Now we’re not talking about plant life here.  We’re talking about you.  God uses the lousy things that happen in your life to prune you so that you may bear more fruit.  He uses the trials and struggles of this life so that you may see Jesus all the clearer.  He fertilizes your life with the junk of this world, even the things that we know are gross and wrong, but God uses them for good.  Perhaps you remember the story of Joseph in Genesis 50. Joseph’s brothers had sold him into slavery so that they could be rid of him.  But Joseph ended up ruling over them.  As Joseph said, As for you, you meant evil; but God meant it for good.

Perhaps another example is in order.  One of the earliest Christian martyrs was a man named Ignatius, a disciple of the apostle John.  Ignatius was arrested and taken to Rome to be torn apart by wild beasts in the arena.  When this was about to happen, Ignatius said, “Let them come!  I am God’s kernel of grain.  He must crush and grind me in the mill before He can use me.”  Now this is a very different way of looking at Christian suffering.  Certainly it is horrible that wild beasts killed Ignatius.  But Ignatius, in faith, could see that God would use these terrible events to serve as a witness to the Gospel.  As Luther put it, “Ignatius looks upon the terrible teeth of the wild lions and bears as nothing else than God’s millstone with which he must be ground to powder in order that he may be prepared as a good cake for God.”

That is how God works in your life.  God loves you and wants what is best for you.  He takes all of the evil and horrible things that Satan and the world will throw against you, He takes all of that, and God uses it to your eternal welfare.  He prunes you so that you may be fragrant and a fruitful branch of the vine, Jesus Christ.  Amazing, isn’t it?  Only God can turn the worst things in our life and use them for our good.

May each of us be renewed today by God the Holy Spirit to abide in Christ and to bear out in our lives the fruits of faith that He would work in us to the glory of God.  Then we need not be afraid of having God examine our lives close up.  For, when He comes to look at you and me, He doesn’t look at us through binoculars or telescopes, but through the life and death of His beloved Son.  By his death we are cleansed of sin and by His resurrection we are set free to be strong, fruit-producing branches of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

March 11, 2012

John 2:13-22

Lent 3

Dear Friends in Christ,  It was easy to identify the temple in Jerusalem: It was the magnificent building made of stone, divided into two rooms. A wall enclosed the courtyard that contained an altar for sacrifice and a basin for washing. The place was guarded carefully as ceremonies were conducted. The furnishings were ornate and of quality craftsmanship, each detail dictated by God.

But what made it the temple? There were other big buildings made of stone. There were other courtyards surrounded by walls. Animals were slaughtered elsewhere, too, and guards stood in front of other places. What made this the temple?  This made it the temple: God was there. This was His house. When the temple was completed by Solomon, the Lord entered the Holy of Holies in a cloud of glory. He lived there, hidden behind a thick curtain, present with His people. If they wanted to find God, they went to the temple: That’s where He promised to be. That’s what made it the temple: As Jesus said, it was His Father’s house.

The temple was the temple because God lived there.  Everything at the temple was designed to point to one of two things: First, that God lived there with His people; that’s why sacrifices were offered at the temple, not somewhere else. Second, those sacrifices proclaimed that the people would be saved from their sins by a sacrifice: They pointed to Jesus, the Son of God, the Sacrifice for the sins of the world. That building was a monument to the faithfulness of God.  But the Israelites forgot: If God left, it was just another building, no matter what it looked like.

So it happened in the Old Testament. As the nation of Israel decayed, the priests took their duties for granted, sloppily going about their ceremonies or neglecting them. By their actions, they declared that the Lord’s presence didn’t matter all that much. This opened the way for further trouble: Once the people decided that the Lord’s presence wasn’t all that special, it made perfect sense to permit other gods who allowed more freedom and flexibility for their lives. Gradually, idols and graven images were brought into the temple itself; it seemed reasonable to expect that the one true God would share His holy space with others.

But that was not the case. As prophesied by Ezekiel, the Lord left the temple. He does not force His grace and presence on anyone, nor does He share His glory with false gods. If the people didn’t want Him as their Help and Salvation, fine; He would simply withdraw and let their false, dead gods look after them.   So He did. The Lord withdrew from that building; but because of the blindness of idolatry, few in Israel even noticed. They still had the building, so God must be there; but He wasn’t. They didn’t want Him, so He’d left.  It came as quite a shock to some when the Babylonians came through and destroyed the temple building: How could it happen if God was there? Answer: He wasn’t.

But He’d be back, present with His people to save. The temple would be rebuilt, then rebuilt again at the time of Herod. God would still dwell with His people, hiding His glory behind stone walls and a thick curtain.

But then He’d do something even better: The temple would come to the temple. This brings us to our Gospel lesson.  Remember: The temple is where God is present with His people.   Remember this, too: It’s possible to destroy the temple but keep the building, and at the time of Christ it is happening again. The temple grounds have been turned into a marketplace: Trade in your animal for a better one to be sacrificed-for a cost, of course. Change your money into the official temple coinage-with a surcharge, naturally.

The focus of the temple is no longer on God’s gracious presence. The message to the worshiper is that God loves him if only he pays enough money.  Jesus has a solution. He fashions a whip out of cords and drives the merchants from the temple: “Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise,” He declares as He runs them off. In passing, we note that the Lord is not opposed to physical force when applied for just reasons. Note the Lord’s accusation: They are turning God’s house into a store. The focus is not on the Lord and His free grace. The focus is on man’s work of striking a deal and making a profit.

God is still present there-Jesus still calls the temple His “Father’s house;” but once again, the Lord is being made to feel unwelcome.  Those in charge of the temple-market are less than amused with Jesus’ words and actions. “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” they demand. They are convinced that they have a good program going, one that benefits the temple; and they are convinced that Jesus has actually harmed the work of the Lord by condemning their program. This Jesus had better give a good reason fast as to why revenge should not be swift and violent.

Jesus’ response puzzles them: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”   “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” they demand. This temple wasn’t built in a day, after all. But St. John tells us the reason for their confusion: “But [Jesus] was speaking about the temple of His body.”  He was speaking about the temple of His body. Remember: What is the temple? The temple is where God dwells graciously with His people. Throughout the Old Testament, this meant a building of stone walls and a heavy curtain. But who is Jesus? He is the Son of God become flesh. Wherever Jesus is, God is dwelling graciously with His people. Jesus is a walking temple: Where He is, God is, because He is God. And since that temple made of stone was meant to point to Him, Jesus now tries to direct the attention of those angry men from it to Him. It’s not the dead stone that makes the temple. It’s God’s presence. Jesus is the temple-God dwelling among His people.

He is also the Sacrifice who will atone for their sin, because His enemies take Him up on His sign. They do destroy the temple: They nail His hands and feet to a cross and watch Him die. Here is the ultimate temple destruction: So much do they want God gone that they kill Him when they have the chance.  But Jesus fulfills the rest of the sign. He rises again three days later.  Note what happens at the temple made of stone at the moment Jesus dies: The curtain is torn in two, from top to bottom. Yes, this is in part a sign that there is no more need for sacrifices. But it is also the Lord’s declaration that He isn’t present in that temple anymore. The building will be there for another forty years or so, but the Lord will be present elsewhere.   Where?  The Lord will be present wherever Jesus is, because Jesus is Lord.

Jesus is also the Word made flesh. Therefore, wherever the Word is proclaimed, Jesus-the Word-is present with His people. Add the Word to water, and Jesus is present with His people in Holy Baptism.  And, of course, we dare not forget or ignore His great declaration of presence in His Supper: “Take and eat, this is My body. Take and drink, this is My blood…for the forgiveness of sins.”

Jesus is present in His means of grace, His Word and Sacraments. Therefore, where you find His Word proclaimed in its truth and purity, and His Sacraments administered according to His Word, you will find Jesus. And wherever Jesus is, there is the temple.

What about today?  Well, you can rejoice because the Temple draws near to you! Long ago, you had to journey to the temple in Jerusalem to be in the presence of the Lord, but no longer. The Lord comes to you! He is just as present in His means of grace here, today, as He was when He lived in the Holy of Holies, surrounded by a cloud of glory. That is why this room is called the sanctuary-the holy place, because God comes to you here. You also see a visual reminder of this during the Service of Holy Communion: The bread and wine are covered by a veil until the Supper — and this veil reminds you of the curtain in the temple behind which the Lord lived. But at the time of the Lord’s Supper, the veil is removed; and as you receive the Lord’s body and blood in, with and under that bread and wine, you are in a most holy place. You are in the presence of God.

This is what worship is about. God is present here in His means of grace. You are in God’s presence by being here, by receiving His means of grace. It’s why we call worship “Divine Service:” The Divine is at your service, forgiving your sins.  Now, here’s the thing: If God graces us with His presence here — If He kindly visits us to forgive our sins, then it only makes sense that His grace and presence should always be the focus of our worship. Nothing in this service should distract us away from Him. This is why our worship always returns to His Word and Sacraments, for they are His temple. They are how He dwells among us.

Therefore, let the Church beware and be warned: It is possible to destroy the temple and leave the walls still standing. In the Old Testament, the Israelites mistook the walls of the temple to mean that God was still there. In our present day, many will point and say, “There is the Church;” but God may not be there at all.  Some have completely forsaken the Lord’s Word and Sacraments, but still consider themselves to be the Church. They will openly deny the authority of Scripture, the virgin birth of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead. Since they do not teach the Scriptures, their message is one of social activism, from protesting foreign policy to the protection of abortion rights or special rights for homosexuals.

Please be aware that such churches will be regarded as useful and praiseworthy by the world. But while they consider themselves to be the Church, we ask this question: Is Jesus present there, forgiving sins? No. It’s not that He isn’t faithful; it’s that they have eliminated the means by which He is present, and do not want Him there. It might be called a church by some. But Jesus isn’t there, and there is no forgiveness or life to be found.

There is always the danger that a church will boast of its programs and activities over the means of grace: “Sure, we still believe that stuff, but the real ministry is going on in this or that group.” In such a case, the focus shifts away from Jesus’ presence to what we are doing instead, and the slide down the slippery slope gains speed. A church with all sorts of programs and ministries will be deemed much more alive than one where the people focus on gathering in the presence of the living Lord.

Above all, then, here is our program and ministry: That Jesus comes here to forgive sins. That He gathers us here, regardless of age, as a group called “His people.” By His means of grace, He forgives the infant, the child, the youth, the young adult, singles and marrieds, the middle-aged and the elderly, without discrimination or separation. By His grace, we proclaim to you the forgiveness of sins, and by that Word you are forgiven; then you go forth to the vocations God has given you. Let nothing we do here do anything but proclaim the truth that Jesus, who died, is risen and here to forgive sins.

The 21st chapter of Revelation describes heaven, and guess what — there is no temple there-because there is no need for the Lord to hide His glory. Delivered from your sin and raised to everlasting life, you can gaze upon His glory and rejoice. Present with His people, God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away (Rev. 21:4).  This is certain for you, dear people of God; because the Lord is present, here and now, to proclaim to you this joyous news: You are forgiven for all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

Dear Friends in Christ

On Wednesday we entered the Season of Lent — 40 days of preparation — a time for us to think about the Sacrifice of Jesus.  A time to think about what He gave up for us? What is hard for you to give up?  The hardest things to give up are the things we love deeply.  Why is it hard to give up something you love so much? For me it’s ice cream (Ice cream pail) and chocolate covered almonds.  What is it for you?

God asked Abraham to give up something.  What was it? The Bible tells us that this was a test for Abraham. Let’s pretend this morning that you are students in a classroom.  I am going to ask you some questions. Students are always taking tests.  Abraham was tested.  I want you to think about what kind of a test it was for Abraham. Some people think that this was a test of Abraham’s obedience.   Does your teacher ever test your obedience?  How?  Why would a teacher test your obedience? Was Abraham obedient to God?  Who else was obedient in this story?

There is another kind of test that this might have been. What do I have here?  (A Math test).   Some of you may remember other tests you had at school. What kind of a test was it?  (A test of your knowledge) Why do teachers want to test your knowledge? So they can put them on A report card.

There is a third kind of test that I want you to think about this morning.  (The first test was the test of obedience.  The second test was the test for knowledge). The third test is a test of faith.  A test of faith is a test that begins with a promise. Suppose your teacher at the beginning of the year had said something like this:  Class, I want to make you a promise.  You and I are going to have a great time this year.  We are going to have to review some things that you learned last year and we will be learning some interesting new things.  These things that we learn will help you in your life and will prepare you for what is to come next year.  And I make you a promise that I will work very hard to get you ready so that by the end of the year you will be prepared to enter the next grade.  This is something we will have to do together.  I will teach and help you learn.  That’s my part.  I will encourage you and help keep you on the right track so you can achieve the goal of moving on to the next grade.  When you get behind I will warn you.  When you do well, I will praise you.  There will be times when you will be upset about things and when you don’t feel much like learning.  I promise to be there to help keep you going.

You have a part in this task too.  Your part is to trust me.  Sometimes I will challenge you.  I will give you homework assignments to do.  I will expect you to pay attention in class.  I will give you tests and report cards so that you can know how well you are doing.  You may not like some of the things I ask you to do, but I want you to trust that the things I ask you to do will be for your good — to help you succeed as a student and to help you succeed in your life.   You want to believe your teacher’s promise and so you decide at the beginning of the year to do your best to have faith in your teacher and to work with her to achieve those goals.

Abraham’s test, more than anything else was a test of faith.  God had made him a promise.  His descendants would become a great nation and through him all the nations of the world would be blessed. But Abraham had no son — until he was almost 100 years old.  Then God kept his promise to Abraham and Sarah and gave them Isaac, their own son.

But now God asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice.  What do you think went through Abraham’s mind? How was this a test of Abraham’s faith?  He might have doubted that God would keep his promise.  He might have wondered why God would make a promise and then keep the promise after so many years, only now to take the promise away again.  He might have been tempted to say “No, God, I won’t believe in you any more.” But he didn’t say that.  He did believe in God.  Maybe like you believe in your teacher.

Abraham found out that God is faithful and that God does keep his promise, for at the last minute the Angel of the Lord told Abraham not to kill his son.  The Lord provided a substitute sacrifice for Isaac — a ram caught in the bushes.  How are we when it comes to passing the test of obedience?  How are we when it comes to passing the test of faith?  We don’t do very well at keeping the 10 commandments, do we?  We fail the test of obedience every day.  And we don’t do very well when it comes to the test of faith either.  How about when it comes to trusting God when we have troubles in life?  We so quickly begin to think that God doesn’t care, that he doesn’t love us.

When we see others who make fun of God, who dismiss God as unimportant, and who laugh at our faith, then it may be hard to remain faithful to God.    But even though we do not have the faith of Abraham and even though over and over again we disobey God, one thing is certain.  God keeps his promises to us.  He gave his own Son as a substitute (like that Ram) for us so that we would not have to die forever.

In our baptism He has made us wonderful promises.  There He has promised to be our God, to love us and to protect us from the evil one.  He has promised to forgive our sins and to be with us through all of life’s troubles and problems.  Even more than our teacher, God has promised to help us grow, to encourage us and even to give us His Holy Spirit to guide us through this life — so that one day we will know the eternal life that will be ours in heaven.

My friends, whenever your faith is tested, remember God’s promises.  Whenever your faith is tested, remember how God has been faithful to you in the past and has kept all his promises – especially the promise to give you a Savior, who is Jesus Christ, your Lord.

Some big things happen on high mountains in the Bible. Noah’s ark landed on Mt. Ararat, and there God promised never again to flood the entire earth. Abraham climbed a hill to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice before God provided a lamb. Moses climbed Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments.

The Transfiguration of our Lord is no exception: Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.    Big things happen at this Transfiguration, and it’s good for us to review them.

Jesus is transfigured, shining like lightning; in other words, He demonstrates that He’s not just another man. He’s fully human, yes—but He’s also fully God. Before Peter, James and John, Jesus gives them a brief glimpse of His heavenly, divine glory.

Furthermore, Moses and Elijah are there—but not to dispense advice. We know from Luke’s account that they’re talking about Jesus and His work. These greatest of prophets from the Old Testament are there to point again to Jesus. So Peter, James and John witness that Jesus is more than just another prophet: He’s the Messiah whom the prophets foretold.

That’s not all: God the Father overshadows them in a cloud and speaks: “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” In a glorious, thunderous way that complements Jesus’ dazzling appearance, the Father declares that Jesus is His Son. Not only that, but Jesus is the Father’s beloved Son. He’s not an escapee from heaven, a renegade son on the lam. He’s God’s beloved Son, sent by the Father to do the Father’s will of salvation.

Peter, James and John get a glimpse of heavenly glory. They normally see Jesus as an ordinary, humble human being going about His work. But here, for a brief time, they see Him glorious— something like the glory of the Lord God sitting on the throne in heaven. It’s short-lived, though; glory like this is the stuff of holy heaven, not sinful earth. God the Father recedes and the prophets disappear, leaving only the very ordinary-looking human Jesus standing in front of three bewildered disciples.

We know the story, and we know what it teaches. Now we must ask the question, “So what?” Why is Jesus transformed? Why then? And why in front of Peter, James and John?    We don’t know all of the reasons why; but we do know some. Jesus has already begun to tell the disciples that He is going to save the world not by glorious triumph, but by His death on the cross. His enemies have already begun to plot His death, and He is on His way to crucifixion. But before Peter, James and John see Him on the cross as the weakest and most condemned man on earth, they see Him transfigured and divine.

That’s it for the heavenly glory. From here the disciples will see Jesus rejected, arrested, tried and crucified, with no glory to be seen. They’ll see Him risen from the dead, and they’ll watch Him ascend into heaven—but no more dazzling white that the Scriptures record. After He’s ascended, they’ll go and proclaim the Gospel. Yes, the Church will grow as disciples are baptized and instructed—just as it does today. In the meantime, the disciples will face setback, suffering and even death themselves. Life on sinful earth will be like it always is: no heavenly glory, but labor and trouble. And hope.

Why hope? Because of what the Father said at the Transfiguration: “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him.” Hear Him. Long after the glory is disappeared, the disciples will still have Jesus’ Word, His Law and Gospel—His faith-giving, enlivening Word. Even though they won’t see more glory in this world, they have God’s Word that heaven is theirs. They have God’s Word that they’ll see His glory again.

So it was for Peter, James and John. Well and good. But once again we must ask, “So what?” So what does this mean for you?    As we consider some applications, we do well to remember: the disciples had the joy of witnessing Jesus’ glory at the Transfiguration before proclaiming it. You weren’t on the mountain that day, and you don’t get to see Jesus’ dazzling glory on this side of heaven unless He returns soon. But you have something better: you have the Word. Although you haven’t seen the Transfiguration with your eyes, you’ve heard the Transfiguration with your ears. To put it in the language of the text, you don’t see God’s beloved Son, but you hear Him.

There are two basic ways to run theology—either a theology of glory or a theology of the cross. If you’re a theologian of glory, you go by what you see. You go by what you feel. You look for God in glorious things on earth— beautiful sunsets, good health and exciting experiences. Worship is about excitement and motivation.

If you’re a theologian of the cross, you operate differently. At the cross, the Lord won salvation even though it didn’t look glorious: His power and glory were hidden under suffering and death. You trust that Jesus’ death is your salvation not because it looked good, but because you hear in His Word that there Christ saved you. Hearing His Word, you don’t look for God to act in glorious ways; but like the cross, you look for God to work in ways where His glory is hidden.

For example: Holy Baptism and Holy Communion don’t look all that spectacular—but those are Sacraments in which God gives you forgiveness for all of your sins. It may not feel exciting—but God’s word promises you forgiveness, life and salvation.    So as Christians in this world, as theologians of the cross, we don’t go with our eyes. Even at the Transfiguration, God the Father said, “Hear Him!,” not “See Him.” In fact, often you will find that you must trust the Lord’s Word in spite of what you must see with your eyes.

Let me give you some examples:  If you’re in junior high or high school, you’re in a unique part of life. It’s confusing time. You’re gaining more independence, but you’re not quite independent yet. It’s a time when you keep getting asked, “What are you going to do with your life?,” and you may be asking yourself the same question. Where your parents may have sheltered you before, you’re exposed to all sorts of stuff right now. That includes temptations, including parties and sex, that people keep on saying are fun. When you get to college, every special interest group—cults included—will try to suck you in for all sorts of bizarre causes, and their friendship and commitment will seem attractive. A lot of this will seem exciting because you’ve never been confronted with it before; and that excitement will seem glorious. But you live by the Word, not appearances. You don’t live in glory, but under the cross. So you live by His Word. You follow His commands, even if others seem to have more fun. You don’t measure God’s approval by how people or activities make you feel. You know that God approves of you because you hear Him speak His Word of forgiveness.   Rest assured: even if you don’t know what you’re going to do with your life, the Lord has plans for you—plans for a future and a hope.

A little older, and you’re a college grad and a young adult. Glorious temptations abound again. Weekends present exciting opportunities to get away, and Word and Sacrament can get left in the dust again and again. Loneliness can lead to relationships that satisfy your felt needs, but destroy your faith. It can be tough being a faithful Christian as a young adult, but once again you go by the Lord’s Word. The Lord declares that you’re forgiven for Jesus’ sake; and because that is true, He will work all things for your good.    Parents worry about their kids. They want their little ones to get the best training and education and opportunities. They also know that the world is full of all sorts of dangers and false messages. And they’re also horribly busy with all there is to do in this post-modern world. Against that backdrop, reading Bible stories, teaching toddlers to memorize the catechism and bringing kids to Sunday School seems so weak and powerless. But the Lord declares that He gives and strengthens faith by His Word, that those stories and doctrines strengthen the faith of your children. It doesn’t look glorious, those family devotions while your kid is trying to play with the spoon that got left on the table—but that’s where your kids can hear God’s life-giving Word.

Grown-up kids worry about their parents. It’s a real shock to realize that your parents, who have always been there, aren’t going to always be there. Witnessing their health problems and deterioration brings home how awful are the wages of sin. Jarred by that grief, you can go by what you see, which will lead you to anger and despair. But you hear the Lord’s Word; and though you still must grieve in this world, you remember Jesus’ heavenly glory on that Mount of Transfiguration. You remember His many miracles of healing; and you look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

It goes without saying that, if you’re the one with the health problems, the same is true. It’s awful to witness the wages of sin within your own body, to measure failing stamina and health. But your final hope is not in your PSA counts or muscle strength or the test results that you see. You hear. You hear Jesus say, “Lazarus, come forth.” You know that, on the Last Day, Jesus will say the same to you.

Whatever your age, you live in a sinful world. And while you want to see heavenly glory, there’s not much heavenly glory to be seen in a sinful world. There’s worldly glory, and plenty of that to distract you and lead you away from the faith. The Lord provides many days of happiness in this world, but there are other days when you’ve got to grit your teeth, say “I am baptized!” and endure. And frankly, there will be times each day, or days and days, when you fail to live under the cross— when you give into this temptation or that one, when you cling to false glories of the world rather than God’s grace, when you fail to speak grace to your family, when you despair instead of rejoice. It will be no different as long as you’re in this inglorious world. But repent—and rejoice that you are not forsaken. The glorious Son of God became flesh in this world to deliver you to heaven.     You don’t see His glory, but you hear His grace. For now, you live by faith on earth, but you will see heaven: because you are forgiven for all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

In our text this morning we are told that Jesus found Philip and called to him: “Follow Me.” With that command came the power to do so, and thus Philip was made a disciple. What do people do with good news? They tell other people.  Philip found Nathanael and said, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” At last, the long-awaited Savior had arrived.

Nathanael considered those words of Philip and asked the question: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  There are, after all, good places to be and places to be from, and Nazareth fit into the second category—a strange place for the Messiah to grow up. Now, what was Philip to do? Should he argue the merits of Nazareth versus Bethsaida? That wouldn’t give Nathanael any faith. But Jesus could, so it made sense to bring Nathanael to where Jesus was. “Come and see,” said Philip.

Jesus greeted Nathanael as if they were already familiar: “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is nothing false!” “How do You know me?” asked Nathanael, and Jesus showed a bit of His omniscience:  “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” That was good enough for Nathanael: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

But oddly enough, not good enough for Jesus. There were all sorts of magicians and “psychics” floating around who could claim to see you under a fig tree: that didn’t make Jesus the Savior. This did: Jesus said to Nathanael, “You will see greater things than these. …I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”    Now what, pray tell, did that mean for this Israelite named Nathanael?

The original man named Israel was first named Jacob. Back in Genesis 28, on the run from his brother Esau, Jacob grew weary and laid down for the night. He dreamed; and what did he see? “A ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it” (Gen. 28:12). Heaven and earth were connected by a ladder, and it was there that the Lord spoke to Jacob. And what did Jacob conclude about the spot when he awoke? He said, “Surely the LORD is in this place!” (Gen. 28:16). That’s why heaven and earth came together there—because the Lord of heaven was present there on earth.

So what did Jesus mean when He told Nathanael that he would see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man? It wasn’t that Nathanael would see a ladder; rather, he’d see Jesus, the Son of Man. Jesus was the connection between heaven and earth because He was the almighty Lord of heaven on the earth. The Savior didn’t want Nathanael trusting only in things like Him seeing people under fig trees. The big point was that surely God was now in that place. He was speaking to him to give him faith and life. What an epiphany for Nathanael.

Now, this text is often most emphasized for Jesus’ calling of His first disciples. But let’s not  miss the point that this reading teaches us simply what evangelism is: it is bringing people to Jesus. That’s what Philip did. That’s what the Church is to do today. And believe it or not, you Lutherans here at Zion are extraordinarily well-equipped for evangelism. Why? Because you know where Jesus is. You know that He is present at the font, joining you to His death and resurrection (Ro. 6). If He wasn’t there, He couldn’t be doing that. You know that Jesus, the Word made flesh, is present in His Word, forgiving your sins and strengthening your faith. You know He is in His Supper, giving you His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins.

Therefore, because Jesus is present here, you get your sins forgiven here. Because Jesus is present here, your faith is strengthened through these means of grace. Because Jesus is here, you come here to hear His promises of healing and mercy. Because Jesus is present here, you come into the presence of the One who will raise you from the dead…and who gives life to those loved ones who have died in the faith before you.

It’s an astonishing miracle that so many Christian churches ignore or even deny: here, by Word and Sacrament, the Lord Jesus Christ is just as really present with you as He was with Philip and Nathanael in the text. This is not just the church out in the country, across the road from the big feed lot; but here, in this place, heaven and earth come together—because Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth, is here. This has a profound effect upon you, and me, and us.    For instance, to invite someone to church is to say with Philip, “Come and see Jesus.” Really! He promises to be found nowhere else than in His Word and Sacraments.

As long as, God willing, His Word is preached and His Sacraments are administered according to His Word here, then Jesus is here to forgive, strengthen faith, heal, and give life.    Now, many will look at the church across from the feed lot and echo Nathanael: “Can anything good come out of Zion? Why would anything special be happening there?” And, in fact, you and I will be assaulted by foes within and without to the point where we might wonder the same thing. When budgets are tight and attendance is down, we tend to dwell on these far more than the truth that the Son of God is present here with forgiveness, life and salvation. At such times, we must repent of our distractedness and return to the marvelous truth: Christ is here to forgive us all our sins.

Another thought that comes to mind is this: as the Lord truly is present here, it would make sense that we would desire to support this place with offerings of time and talent and treasure. What does it say of you or me if we claim Jesus is our greatest treasure, yet fail to support where He is present to save? His work here gives us pause to examine ourselves: do our actions and contributions confess that He first loves us—and loves us here? That is the key to joyful stewardship: Christ is here to save. We love and serve because He first loves and serves us.

Here is one more thing to ponder. If Jesus truly is here, then it is He who gathers us here. This means that those around you are not fellow spectators who happen to have an interest in the same things you do. They are not random customers who happen to frequent the same store. They are your brothers and sisters in Christ, because Christ Himself has called and gathered them and you, together, to this place. It’s an astonishing truth to ponder, and perhaps an unsettling one, but while we often greatly value our relatives by blood, such relationships only last a lifetime in this world. But the family of God remains together for eternity.

And don’t forget: Christ has not only died for you, but He is risen for you, too. He has called you to be His beloved children, forgiving your sins and giving you eternal life. That is why you come and see Him here. Or, perhaps better, that is why you come and hear Him here. For this is His Word to all of His children, and this is His Word to you: you are forgiven for all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen

Today we see John the Baptist, miracle child of Elizabeth and Zacharias’ old age. He’s all grown up now, and he stands out from the crowd. His wardrobe is strictly Old Testament prophet in style. You won’t find camels’ hair with leather accents on the runways of Paris or Milan in 30 A.D., and they may not be John’s choice at all. But he’s dressed that way for a reason: He’s the new Elijah. He’s dressed in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets because this is the office he holds: God has called him to prepare the way of the Lord, to point to the One who is mightier than he.

Strange place to be a prophet. There’s no synagogue or amphitheater or marketplace in sight. He’s in the wilderness, far enough away from town that the dinner menu is down to locusts and wild honey. Demographically, it doesn’t make sense; it’s much more reasonable for him to go into the villages and cities of Judea with his message. But in the wilderness he stays, because that is where God has called him; he is to be the voice crying in the wilderness, and his station has been determined since the time of Isaiah. There he preaches, and all Judea goes out to hear his message.

It’s a strange message. He preaches a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. It’s not the catchiest sermon ever offered. John bludgeons his hearers with the Law: He bellows at soldiers to act justly and commands tax collectors to work fairly. No respecter of persons, he blasts the Pharisees as a brood of vipers. This is not a feel-good sermon, at least not so far; he warns them of their sinfulness and guilt before God. Of course, he doesn’t stop with the Law. He is not there only to accuse them, to make them despair and leave them lost. He is preparing the way; so after a heavy dose of applicable Law, he turns to Gospel: One is coming after him, one who is far mightier and will baptize with the Holy Spirit. There’s hope for sinners, because He is coming. And with such a strange message, the people undergo a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

There must be times when John is tempted to abandon that strange message; it won’t be much longer until he decreases and his ministry seems to take a nosedive. Eventually, his application of Law and Gospel to King Herod will cost him his head. But the message is like the office and the wilderness: it’s what God has given John to preach, and nothing else. If He abandons God’s message, He is no longer God’s messenger.

The time of John’s decrease is close at hand, because on this day the preparation is complete; the way of the Lord is prepared. The Lord stands in the crowd on Jordan’s banks that day. The incarnate second person of the Holy Trinity is standing among His people, and we note something strange again: Nobody notices that He’s there. No one will know that the Savior is in their midst until John points Him out and says “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

No, when the Word made flesh stands among His people, He has no form or comeliness; and when they see Him, there is no beauty that they should desire Him. Furthermore, He makes no statement of authority that day; He does not seize the reigns and declare Himself to be the Mighty One. He comes as Lamb, not lion; and rather than boast of His holiness and superiority before the multitudes, He comes to be baptized-just like all the poor, miserable sinners gathered to listen to John.

He comes to be baptized, and He is that day. John’s protests don’t even make it into Mark’s Gospel, because they are not the point. What matters is that Jesus has come to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness. And mark this well, dear friends in Christ: He is baptized to fulfill all righteousness for you.

This Baptism of our Lord is an important stop on the way to the cross. It must be, because the Holy Trinity gathers at the banks of the Jordan, all three persons manifested. The Son is baptized. The Holy Spirit descends. The Father proclaims, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Just before His wilderness temptation, the Trinity gathers at the banks of the Jordan, where Jesus is baptized like every sinner there. He is baptized for all nations, and He is baptized for you. We know that, in Holy Baptism, the sins of sinners are washed off of them by water and the Word. In Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan, the sins of all the world are washed onto Him.  And He will drag that loathsome burden of sin with Him, never letting go-even when He must trudge up the hill of Calvary. On that way of sorrow, the wooden beams will be shifted to Simon of Cyrene; but the far heavier cross still rests upon the shoulders of the Lord.

And that’s your hope. By His Baptism, your Baptism is sanctified. As Father, Son and Holy Ghost were working for your salvation at the Jordan that day, so they worked your salvation at the font, when a pastor washed you with water and Word “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” And today the Holy Trinity has renewed your Baptism with the words, “I forgive you all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” By this Absolution, you are prepared and renewed for the Lord’s Supper, where you dine in the presence of God. All of this goes back to Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan River. If He is not baptized, your Baptism is not sanctified. If your sins are not washed onto Him there, they are not washed off of you at the font. And if your sins are not washed away, you cannot stand the presence of God.

But Jesus is baptized. He is present in Word and Sacrament for your good. So you have hope. This is the hope that we are called by God to proclaim to all who will hear. Like John the Baptist, we proclaim the Mightier One who has freed us by His mighty weakness, suffering and death.

Strange clothes. We wear them, too. Not camel’s hair and leather, but vestments and stoles worn by the pastor. We’re used to seeing them in the chancel. They may seem like strange clothes, but they’re not meant to be fashionable: They’re meant to cover us up, hide as much of us as possible, because we’re called to point away from us and point to the beloved Son, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Strange message, too. We preach Baptism, repentance and the remission of sins. We preach Jesus Christ, baptized and crucified. It’s still not the catchiest message for this world, and never will be. It is, however, the message that we proclaim, because it’s the one that God has given us as His messengers. He uses our tongue and hands for His ongoing epiphany to the nations. We perform baptisms, and Christ is there to save. We preach the Word, yet it’s the voice of God that rings out. We preside over the Lord’s Supper, and the Lord is there-as present as when He stood in the Jordan.

We could go on and on. We are told that successful churches are about character building, family relationships, leadership development, helping the poor. We do not oppose these things; indeed, we agree that these are good things for life in the kingdom of the left. But they don’t give the forgiveness of sins. If that is the sum total of our message, then Jesus is not present with His grace, and all is lost.

Ah, but here is your comfort and hope: God is still faithful to you. He washed your sins off of you at your Baptism, and onto His Son at His. The Word made flesh has borne your sins to the cross and suffered your judgment; this is true and will not be revoked.

The Supper is for you, too, because there the Lord feeds you with His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. He strengthens and preserves you in the one true faith unto life everlasting.

By these means of grace, He declares to you, “You are My beloved son, My beloved daughter” because My only-begotten Son has suffered in your place. With you I am well-pleased, because My Son has taken all of your sin away.”  – in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen

December 24, 1999

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

Do you know what one song has sold the greatest number of records in history?    If you’ve listened much to the radio lately, you’ve probably heard it several times in the past two or three weeks.  It’s Irving Berlin’s “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”.  The last part of that song goes like this:  “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas with every Christmas card I write.  May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white.”

There’s another song about snow that was written more than 1000 years before the birth of Christ.  The composer was David, second king of Israel and his song is recorded in Psalm 51:7 ― “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”

With these two songs in mind, I’d like to share a poem as tonight’s sermon.  It’s called:  A White Christmas.

It is the season of Christmas, and all over the earth
Christians gather to celebrate our dear Savior’s birth.
With presents to open and some even tried,
We pause for a moment and set them aside.
And leaving the hustle and bustle and rush,
We sit here, just sit here, enjoying the hush.

Maybe we think of the month that is past,
And wonder about how it went by so fast.
So then we recall all the things we have done,
To judge the ones that were boring or fun,
And count up all of our trips to the mall,
The cookies, the candies, the wrappings, and all.
We wonder, oh, yes, if in all that is here
We’ve left something out of our Christmas this year.

Oh, there still will be visits and more presents yet,
But we know what’s not missing, a need that’s been met.
For now it is Christmas, and it all looks so right
When we look out the window, and Christmas is white!

When the dark and the stark and the naked old trees
Glisten and sparkle in the wake of the freeze,
And the frozen old ground, once so barren and low
Becomes such a wonder in its blanket of snow.

And even the stalks of the untrimmed roses
Appear to be snowmen in various poses.
And all that was ugly, unseemly, or trite
Becomes clothed in beauty, all dressed up in white.

But this white picture’s more than Currier and Ives;
This white picture touches more than our eyes.
And God in his wisdom would lead us to know
The message he gives in the white of the snow.

For each stark and dark and naked old tree
Is a description of all that is lacking in me.
And the muddy old ground looking barren and low
Is the stain of my sin and the guilt that I know.
And even the stalks of the untrimmed roses
Stand out as my life in its unholy poses.

And I long for a blanket to cover my sin,
Something to hide the deep stain that’s within.
And I stumble and fumble and search through the night,
But I cannot begin to turn darkness to light.
In my helpless condition, though I strut and I brag,
I’m no closer to white than a filthy old rag.

Oh, I can holler and wail that enough is enough,
And could even try to be hateful and rough.
After all, it’s not my fault I’m morally lame.
It’s the world! It’s those others! It’s the weather I’11 blame!

But even as I clamor with self-will and with pride,
Looking for excuses behind which to hide,
God’s Law is so perfect, and clear is the sign:
The sin, the transgression, the evil are mine.

And that’s when I sit in the darkness of night,
I pray to God to send forth his light.
“Lord, take all within me that’s rotten and mean,
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.
Where sin’s ugly stain is all I can show
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

That washing, that cleansing from darkness and strife,
That freedom from bondage, that forgiveness and life,
Was the promise that God through his work would soon bring,
The promise he gave to each prophet and king:
Salvation would spring forth and put sin to flight,
And Christmas for all men would one day be white.

In so many ways our God spoke of old
And thus through the prophets his message was told.
And through signs and wonders and visions to man
He began to reveal his most wonderful plan.

But did walking with God in the garden in light
Secure man’s salvation and make all things right?
NO, Adam and Eve turned away in their pride.
And because of their sin, each one of us died.

And what about Noah, when the flood waters came,
Did life in the ark cleanse the guilt from his name?
NO, the sin of the world was not washed in that flood.
Men continued to hate and to shed their warm blood.
Did the rescue from slavery in Egypt by night
Free the world from its bondage to sin and its might?

Did giving the Law on Mount Sinai’s height
Make people sinless and forgiven and right?
Did the Red Sea rescue? Did the wilderness plight?
Was that manna from heaven their holy delight?
Did it happen when God with his own mighty hand
Brought them into that Promised Land?
Was it there in the temple, where God chose to dwell?
Did Jerusalem’s walls thwart the powers of hell?
Did the remnant from exile with praises to sing?
Did judges? Did prophets? Did priests? Did kings?

God used all these things only to make it clear,
His promise of ages was still drawing near.
And God in his wisdom, in each sign they could see
Was telling them always, “Hope and trust in me.
And soon when time in its fullness has run,
I will give you that gift of my own precious Son.”

And I see what the prophets had promised for years,
What God’s people longed for with prayers and with tears
God brought it to pass in the still of the night.
When Jesus was born, and Christmas was white!

White because here was God’s holy child.
White because tho’ he was humble and mild,
He would carry our griefs and our sorrows and blame.
He would suffer indignity, insult and shame            .
And endure each temptation without giving in,
Then give up his life to cleanse us from sin.

White because over sin rank and obscene
He purged me with hyssop, and I became clean.            .
White because in his shed blood I know,
He washed me in love, I became whiter than snow!

It’s the season of Christmas and all over the earth,
As Christians we celebrate our dear Savior’s birth.
In spite of the season stuffed full of noise
We remember the reason for all of our joys.

You could cover the world in a blanket of snow,
And still every heart would deep down in it know
That it takes more than snow to turn darkness to light.
Yes, it takes more than snow to make Christmas white.

So where’s the white Christmas that we’re dreaming of?
Why, it’s right in the manger, in God’s gift of love.
No longer is Christmas dark, naked, and old.
No longer will sin leave us barren and cold.
Not the stain of my sin, nor the guilt that you know,
For our Savior has washed us much whiter than snow!

And now through our lives, every day, every hour,
We can know his forgiveness, his strength, and his power.
And then on that last day when we see him in light,
We will stand with the multitude clothed in pure white
And give glory forever to God up above            .
For the gift of a Savior, the power of God’s love.

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
With Jesus’ birth here on this night.
May your days always in him be bright
And may all your Christmases be white.

In the name of the Father and of the  Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen