Sermon -- Christmas Day (December 25, 2025)

THE LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS.

JOHN 1:1-14 

In the name + of Jesus.

    Christmas Eve produces an image that is endearing, perhaps even romantic.  A young couple basks in the love of their child.  A chorus of angels sings good news of great joy.  Shepherds come to visit the Christ child who rests in a manger.  Our Nativity scenes make it all look cozy.  Our imagination matches Thomas Kinkade paintings. 

     Such images are etched in fantasy, not reality.  While the birth of a child is wonderful, giving birth is painful and messy.  Besides the risks of childbirth in the ancient world, the Virgin Mary also had to give birth near the manger—in other words, by the smells and feces of animals.  If the manger was filled with hay, it was scratchy.  If it was empty, it was hard.  In either case, it was not as comfortable as we like to think.  When the shepherds came in from the fields, they were damp with the night air and smelling of the sheep.  Our Lord entered a world that was gritty, rough, and cruel.

     By contrast, you and I get to enjoy many creature comforts that make life more bearable.  We have furnaces to heat our insulated homes.  We have overstuffed chairs that rock and recline.  We have cars that are climate controlled, perhaps with heated seats.  Thanks to indoor plumbing, we can bathe daily and remove our waste with one flush.  And thanks to modern medicine, both the infant mortality rate and the risk to the mother have been reduced greatly.  These benefits are not only all familiar to us, they are expected.  We are accustomed to being comfortable.  Our world does not seem to be nearly as rough or gritty.

     But it is still cruel. 

     The world can be a very dark place.  People carry emotional scars from relationships, perhaps strained or terminated because of fighting or betrayal or infidelity.  Part of the nostalgia at Christmas is the remembrance of loved ones who are buried in the earth.  It is also the reminder that the heart-warming days of childhood are gone and will never be repeated.  Sins put us in a dark place, especially if they result in long term consequences.  If you are carrying a burden, perhaps no one seems to notice or care.  In the midst of parties and music and cookies, it can be very lonely.  The house may be comfortable, but the world is still a cruel and dark place.

     Our hearts and minds are dark places, too.  The Bible says, “The heart is more deceitful than anything.  It is beyond cure.  Who can understand it” (Jeremiah 17:9)?  It is the home of anxiety and fear.  We fret over bad things that might happen, even though they probably won’t.  We take delight in Schadenfreude: we enjoy watching other people suffer.  Or on the reverse side, we drift into envy: we get angry over someone else’s blessings.  These attitude are especially dark, because the misery of others does not make your life any better, and the happiness of others does not make your life any worse.  The human heart is a dark and bitter place.  Repent. 

     But shining into the darkness of this world and piercing into the darkness of the sinful heart is a light from heaven.  St. John wrote about the Christ child: “In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.  The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5).    

     When a bright light breaks into a dark place, we immediately shield our eyes.  We squint or turn away because the brightness hurts.  That’s what Adam and Eve did when the Lord came to them in the Garden after they had sinned.  They did not want to see the Lord.  Likewise, when the Lord appeared to Moses at the burning bush, Moses covered his face.  When the angels appeared to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem, they were sore afraid.  The holiness of God, and even of his angels, exposes the filth of our sin.  The brightness reveals how dark our hearts and minds are.  This is why people want nothing to do with God.  We are fearful of judgment.  We are angry at accountability.  St. John wrote, “The light has come into the world, yet people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.  In fact, everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, or else his deeds would be exposed” (John 3:19-20). 

     “God is light.  In him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).  God came into the world in human flesh, just as John declared, “The real light that shines on everyone was coming into the world” (John 1:9).  But the light of God is not sent to blind us or to roast us in blazing heat.  The light that comes into the world in Jesus Christ is sent to enlighten us.  Yes, it exposes us as the sinners we are.  But once our eyes have adjusted to the light, that is, once the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see, the Light of God shows us goodness and mercy.  Jesus enlightens us to see the beauty of God’s love which does not desire in the death of sinners.  He does not want anyone perish.  Rather, he acts to rescue us from the dominion of darkness so that we are not plagued by guilt, hounded by Satan, or swept away with a dark and dying world.  Jesus has come to bring joy to a cruel world, to bring peace to troubled hearts, and to bring hope for a bright and glorious heaven.

     “The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).  That’s not to say the devil didn’t do his best to destroy the Light of the world.  The devil employed people with sin-darkened hearts to do his dirty work.  King Herod tried to slaughter Jesus in his infancy.  The religious leaders tried to trap him with carefully crafted questions, certain they could use his words against him to accuse him of heresy, blasphemy, or treason.  They tried to smear his reputation, calling him a drunkard, a glutton, demon-possessed, a Samaritan, and a friend of crooks and whores.  They tried to alienate his disciples from him, asking them, “Why do you follow a rabbi who acts like that?”  The darkness worked hard to snuff him out, but the darkness has not overcome the light.

     Even when the forces of darkness converged to plot his death, they did not overcome the light.  Unwittingly, the forces of darkness teamed up to fulfill all of God’s promises.  They orchestrated the very death that paid for the sins of the world.  When Jesus hung on the cross with all our sins upon him, darkness covered the earth.  The light of the Father fled from Jesus.  The love of the Father turned away and Jesus was forsaken as one cursed.  Jesus died on a dark and dismal day for all the evils that lurk in our hearts and minds.

     But the darkness did not overcome him.  The Savior rose from the dead.  The light did not burn out, but shines brighter than ever.  Jesus Christ is the Light of the World.  He lives to show us that we have a loving God who takes away our sin.  He lives to enlighten us to see God’s mercy.  He has ransomed us from the dominion of darkness.  Satan would still accuse you and try to expose you as a sinner.  He wants you to believe that God cannot love you because of the darkness that resides in you.  The devil tries to keep people blinded in unbelief.  He convinces people that sinful rebellion is freedom while holy obedience to God’s word is oppressive.  But Satan’s “freedom” leads to regret, shame, and hell.  Short-term sensual pleasures do not bring lasting joy and result in everlasting death.

     But Jesus shines the light of God’s grace upon you.  He has taken away your sins, so the devil’s accusations have no standing in God’s court.  He has claimed you as his own, so Satan cannot have you.  He has brought you into the kingdom of light.  “The real light that shines on everyone (has come) into the world” (John 1:9).  “The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).  Whatever remains in darkness will die.  Where God’s light shines, there is life.  Therefore, he has made you children of light.  He guides you so that you walk in the light as he is in the light.  His word is a lamp for your feet and a light for your path.  He purifies your hearts so that you are disgusted by the deeds of darkness, find no joy in them, and will not return to them. 

     As St. Paul wrote, “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.  It trains us to reject ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, that is, the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.  He gave himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are his own chosen people, eager to do good works” (Titus 2:11-14).  Our Lord shows you that godly living is not oppressive, but is filled with blessing and spares you many griefs.  You don’t live under threats, but under grace.  You know that your future is not dark, but exceedingly bright.

     The light shines in the darkness.  On Christmas day, it is wrapped in strips of cloth, rests in a manger, and nurses at Mary’s breast.  It is a scene that may appear cozy.  But the Savior has not entered a romantic Nativity scene.  The Savior has come into a rough, gritty, cruel world to do battle against dark and demonic forces.  The Savior has come to win you from death and hell.  It was a fight to the death, and it was a fight for you.  But our Savior is risen.  He has conquered death and the devil.  The light shines.  Darkness has not overcome it.  You are the prize he has rescued.

     Dear Christians, rejoice.  We celebrate the birth of our Lord which occurred some 2,000 years ago and 6,000 miles away.  But he comes to you today.  He still comes to us in our rough, gritty, dark world.  The God who came to us as a body and blood baby, who gave that body and blood into death to pay for your sins, comes to you today with his body and blood to nurture your faith and to cleanse your heart.  By strengthening and preserving you in the one true, catholic (NOTE: small “c”), and apostolic and faith, he assures you that the darkness will not overcome you again.  Today is Christ’s Mass.  Christ came to earth to save you, and now Christ still comes to earth to keep you safe.

     Christmas is not about romance or nostalgia.  Christmas is about God’s faithful love delivered to earth in a person, Jesus.  He has poured out that faithful love upon you and in you.  The light shines in the darkness.  The darkness flees away.  The warmth of God’s love embraces us all.

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

Sermon -- Christmas Eve (December 24, 2025)

GLORY TO GOD.  GOOD WILL TOWARD MANKIND.

LUKE 2:1-20.

In the name + of Jesus.

    Chances are, you are going to open gifts tonight or tomorrow.  Even though you may be excited to see what hides under the wrapping paper, the gift is not the only thing that matters.  Each gift will have a tag on it to let you know who the gift is from.  Who the gift is from matters just as much as the gift.  It is a statement about the love and concern the giver has for the one who receives the gift.  If all that mattered was the gift, we would not care if a gift was given anonymously.  We would just want the loot.  But it does matter.  We want to know whom to thank for their consideration and their generosity.

     When the angels sang the heavenly hymn above the fields of Bethlehem, they spoke of two gifts that were given: Glory to God, and Good Will to Mankind.

     The angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:14).  Who gives this glory, and why?  Before we ask that, let’s ask this: Why does God need glory?

     Even if we did not meet tonight to sing praises to God, God would not be any different.  He would still be all-powerful.  He would still be all-knowing.  He would still be holy.  He does not need us for any of these things.  God is glorious no matter what we do or say or think.  If God did not send his Son into the world to save sinners, God would not be any different.  So, if anyone wants to argue that God does not need glory from us, then it should also be noted that God did not need to save us, either.  God is the same, with or without us.

     But God did not want to be without us.  God loves what he has created.  When sin ruined the relationship between God and mankind, God acted to restore it.  “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  While God is glorious for being all-powerful, all-knowing, holy, and so on, we give God glory because he loves sinners and saves them.

     The angels sang their song of praise when God sent his Son into the world in human flesh.  The angels did not benefit from the birth of a Savior.  The angels do not need to be saved.  But the angels do marvel that God loved mankind so much that he became one of us.  That is why the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest!”

     We who benefit from this Savior have all the more reason to give glory to God.  When we sing our songs of praise, we do not merely praise God for being pure and powerful.  We praise God for humbling himself to take on flesh that would be cut by a crown of thorns and pierced by nails and spear.  We glorify God for submitting himself to live in the same troubled world we live in—to experience mockery, slander, sorrow, pain, injustice, and death. 

     The Lord did not do this just to experience what we experience.  He did it to deliver us from the evils which infect the world and infect our own hearts.  God became a human of flesh and blood so that his flesh would be rent and his blood would be poured out as a sin offering.  This sacrifice made by the righteous God for unrighteous men appeases the Father in heaven.  This is why we give glory to God.  The glory of God is that he is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and overflowing with mercy and truth, maintaining mercy for thousands, forgiving guilt and rebellion and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7). 

     The angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:14), because they witnessed God’s love for mankind.  We sing, “Glory to God in the highest,” because we benefit from that redeeming love.  We glorify God because his love moved him to become one of us, to pay for our sins, and to open heaven up to sinners.  When we sing our hymns, we don’t offer up bland words of generic praise.  The best praise does not tell God what we think of him; the best praise retells what our Savior did for us.  For example: 

          Christ, from heaven to us descending
             And in love our race befriending,
                In our need his help extending,
                   Saved us from the wily foe.

          Jacob’s Star in all its splendor
             Beams with comfort sweet and tender,
                Forcing Satan to surrender,
                   Breaking all the powers of hell.

          From the bondage that oppressed us,
             From sin’s fetters that possessed us,
                From the grief that sore distressed us,
                   We, the captives, now are free.
          “Come Your Hearts and Voices Raising” by Paul Gerhardt (1607 – 1676)

     Glory to God because he has taken up our cause and saved us from death and hell.  Glory from the angels.  Glory from mankind.  Glory to God.

     While our glory goes to God, the greater gift by far is God’s gift to us: Good will toward mankind.  The angels proclaimed this good news to shepherds who often did not receive the good will of their society.  They were usually the undesirables.  Yet, they learned that God had a desire for them to be his.  The angel proclaimed to the shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you.  He is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). 

     God’s good will toward mankind did not merely come in a proclamation, but in a person.  God’s good will came in that Bethlehem baby.  The baby in the manger is the Lord.  He who created the world comes to be with his creatures.  He who grants and sustains life comes to live among us. 

     To the shepherds, the angel said, “This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).  That meant Jesus was a peasant, just like the shepherds were.  When they heard that the Christ was wrapped in strips of cloth, they would have thought, “That’s how our wives wrap our babies!  He is not in some palace that we have no chance of entering.  He is one of us.  He comes for the likes of us!”  God’s good will is not toward some of mankind.  It is good news of great joy for all the earth. 

     At Christmas time, we hear a general appeal for people to have good will toward one another.  It is odd to me that this message receives such emphasis at this time of year.  But maybe it receives such emphasis because Christmas time can reveal the worst of us more than the best of us.  When we go to the store, wait for parking, shop among self-absorbed crowds, and stand in long lines, our good will toward others ran short.  The stress of year-end deadlines boiled over into rude remarks and office squabbles.  The pressure to produce the perfect Christmas magic in our homes made our homes unpleasant.  And while family gatherings seem like a great idea, family rivalries can flare up and arguments from the past can get renewed.  Our good will toward mankind takes a beating at Christmas, and it gets withheld throughout the year as well.

     If this is how we feel about our fellowman, what should God think of us who commanded us, “Love your neighbor as yourself?”  God does not put limits on this love, as if to say, “Love your neighbor, well, if he deserves it.  Love your neighbor, well, unless he is a jerk.  Love your neighbor, but only if he loves you back.”  On the contrary, this is what the Lord says, “If you love those who love you, what reward do you have?  Even tax collectors do that, don’t they?  If you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others?  Do not even the unbelievers do that” (Matthew 5:46-47)?

     But God’s good will toward mankind goes without limits.  The angel declared, “I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you” (Luke 2:10-11).  The Savior comes for all people—for those who are rude, tired, stressed, snarky, bitter, sad, jealous, petty, abusive, addicted, and adulterous.  That is because the Savior comes to pay for the sins of the world.  His love goes beyond covering minor indiscretions or social faux pas, but he also covers great and shameful sins.  Rather than pick and choose which sinners aren’t that bad, Jesus acted to suffer and die for all.  Rather than debate which sins are serious and which are insignificant, Jesus paid for them all. 

     Jesus proves God’s good will toward mankind.  He does not leave you to wallow in guilt or to languish in your sins.  He delivers you from the guilt, rescues you from the punishment, and reconciles you to God.  He even restores shattered lives and mends broken hearts.  The grace he bestows is greater than your sins.  The joy he brings endures even in the face of death.  God is faithful in his love and lavish with his forgiveness.  The Lord Jesus has taken your sins away from you.  The only way they can condemn you now is if you take them back.

     If you are unwrapping gifts tonight or tomorrow, you might get exactly what you want.  Or you might not.  Loved ones take their best guess at what they think you will like or what you can use.  They mean well, even if they don’t do that well with their gifts.  But our Lord gave the supreme gift that is useful, beneficial, and necessary.  A Savior has been born for you.  He is Christ the Lord.  Through him, God bestows his good will.  And we give glory to God.

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

Local Tourist -- Meadowbrook Hall for Christmas

On Friday, December 19, the Local Tourist and his lovely Mrs. took a tour of Meadowbrook Hall in Rochester, Michigan.  Click on the link for details about this amazing home.  We toured it as it was all decked out for Christmas.  It was fantastic.

Here are some photos.

Christmas 2025

Join us for our Christmas services as we worship the Word who became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service:

A Service of Lessons and Carols

Wednesday, December 24 at 7:00 PM

Christmas Day Festival Service

Thursday, December 25 at 10:00 AM

o logos is Greek for "the Word."

YouTube -- Christmas Day (December 25, 2024)

Here is the Divine Service from Christmas Day, 2024.

Sermon -- Christmas Day

o logos is Greek for "the Word"

JOHN 1:1-18

WHAT IS CHRISTMAS ALL ABOUT?      

In the name + of Jesus.

      What is Christmas all about?  That question gets a myriad of answers.  You would think if Christmas had one main focus, there would only be one answer.  If you asked someone what Monopoly was all about, you would get one basic answer like “gaining control of all the properties.”  That would give you a monopoly, which is the name of the game.  But with Christmas, we get all kinds of answers.

     Some say, “Christmas is all about giving.”  But does that mean presents?  Or charity?  Or volunteerism?  Who is giving?  What are they giving?  And to whom are they giving it?  Is it Christmas shoes, like the song says?

     Others say, “Christmas is all about family.”  I would think that other days would be all about family, too—like Thanksgiving, 4^th of July, Labor Day weekend, birthdays, weddings, and so on.  If Christmas is all about family, you certainly don’t need to be here for it, or to be a Christian to celebrate it.  Much of the world agrees with that.

     Others might insist, “Christmas is all about a festive spirit.”  What are the festivities, and what is that spirit?  Maybe it is a feeling of home.  Maybe it is a party with lots of food.  Maybe it’s alcohol. 

     Other answers are just bizarre.  Maybe Christmas is all about sitting in front of the TV to watch the NBA, or drinking eggnog, or getting 30% off winter tires.  So many people make claims about what Christmas is all about, but few are in agreement.  This is what happens when people tell God what his festival is about.

     What is Christmas all about?  I suppose there are a lot of ways that Christians might express it, but it comes down to this: Jesus.  God the Father has sent his Son into the world to deliver mankind from an aimless life, filled with pain and sorrow, which marches on to an unavoidable death.  For many, that’s all life is; so, they fill it with distractions to keep themselves amused until there is nothing amusing about life anymore.  But there is good news of great joy for you.  And it is for all the people.  A Savior has been born for you. 

     What is Christmas all about?  One of the ways we answer is this: “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  It is about the love God the Father has for you and for all people.  God the Father is the Maker of heaven and earth.  God took great delight in what he had made.  Repeatedly, God assessed his creation and saw that it was good.  Even though sin has corrupted everything and everyone, the Father never stopped loving his creation.  So, this is how God loved the world: He sent his only-begotten Son to redeem it.

     What is Christmas all about?  It is to show us that the Lord is merciful.  Your conscience tells you that God has no reason to be merciful toward you.  You might be able to hide your sinful thoughts from others.  You can limit your unkind words to a sympathetic audience.  But your conscience does not let you off the hook.  It accuses you of wickedness and sentences you as guilty.  Now, if you are guilty, you are accountable to God for your guilt.  And your conscience assures you that God’s judgment of you will be just.  The guilty must pay the price.

     However, Jesus reveals to you that God is not only just.  He is merciful.  St. John wrote, “No one has ever seen God.  The only-begotten Son, who is close to the Father’s side, has made him known” (John 1:18).  What Jesus makes known about God is that he does not take pleasure in the death of anyone.  Jesus makes known the Father’s love.  And he does not just talk about it.  Jesus demonstrates it. 

     Even though he is all-glorious, Jesus came into the world with his glory hidden.  St. John wrote, “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us” (John 1:14).  God the Son, here called the Word, became flesh.  To become flesh, he was conceived in the womb of his mother.  He was born into this world as all people are because he became a human being.  He made himself one of us to take up our cause, that is, to answer for our guilt.

     That infant flesh would one day be flogged, pinned to a cross, run through with a spear, and die.  The death would be by crucifixion, but the sentence would be guilty on all counts for all sinners on earth.  Jesus became a man to die on behalf of mankind, bearing the curse that all men deserve.  Therefore, justice was done.  The guilty one paid the price.  As true God, his life and death count for everyone.  God so loved the world that no one in the world should have to perish for his sins.  This is what Jesus has made known about God the Father.  This is the good news proclaimed to the shepherds which is for all people.  This is the glory which the angels sang about.  God’s good will toward men has been made known through Jesus.

     What is Christmas all about?  The very name should tell you that.  It is about Christ.  He is the light which shines in the darkness of a sinful world.  He enlightens us to see the glory of God—that God loves sinners, that God has acted to redeem sinners, that God who created us for himself has redeemed us so that we can be his beloved people forever.  Christmas is all about Christ.  St. John wrote, “We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. … For out of his fullness we have all received grace upon grace” (John 1:14,16). 

     God is most gracious to all he has made.  He provides us with innumerable blessings.  This is why we can enjoy the blessings of family, music, presents, chocolates, and twinkling lights.  But God adds to his grace through Jesus Christ.  In Jesus, we have a God whose mercies are new every morning.  He does not disown us when we must confess our sins to him again and again.  He does not tire of pardoning us.  Jesus Christ has poured out his blood as the eternal payment for all our sins.  The grace of God never runs out.  Out of the fullness of Jesus’ love and from the completeness of his atoning sacrifice, we have grace on top of grace.  His mercy endures forever.

     What is Christmas all about?  The very name should tell you that.  It is about Christ, but it is also about the Mass.  The real feast for today comes from this altar.  For, here is the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The Word became flesh to unite himself with us.  The Word made flesh gave his flesh into death in order to pay for all our sins.  The innocent blood of Christ purifies us from all unrighteousness.  The body and blood of Christ are not dead relics though.  Jesus rose from the dead as a glorified body-and-blood man.  Jesus now lives and reigns at the right hand of God the Father.  The right hand of God is wherever God is at work, particularly for the salvation of his people.  Since God is at work everywhere, Jesus’ body and blood can be on this altar as well as on every Christian altar in the world.  Therefore, we can feast Sunday after Sunday, festival after festival, from this altar.  “Out of his fullness we have all received grace upon grace” (John 1:16).  This is Christ’s Mass where we feast on the living body and blood of Jesus for our own eternal benefit. 

     Do you want to say that Christmas is all about giving?  You can say that if you confess that Christmas is all about the Father giving his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.  You can say that if you confess that it is about Jesus Christ giving himself into death to redeem you and to set you apart as a new creation for God’s glory.  You can say that if you confess that it is about your Lord giving you his body and blood to strengthen and preserve you in the one true faith unto life everlasting. 

     Do you want to say that Christmas is all about family?  You can say that if you take to heart the words of the Apostle John: “To all who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12-13).  Thanks be to Jesus, you are all children of God.  The Lord has adopted you into his family, and he has given you all the benefits of dwelling in the household of God.  For now, you bear family name, Christian.  You have been exalted to the status of saints.  You get to feast at the family table.  And if you are children of God, then you are heirs of eternal life. 

     Do you want to say that Christmas is all about a festive spirit?  You can, if you recognize that the Holy Spirit has enlightened you to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  You can say that if you acknowledge that by the Holy Spirit you have been born again “not of blood, or of the desire of the flesh, or of a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13).  Thanks to the Holy Spirit, your life is not an aimless march to an unavoidable death.  Rather, it is a life of honoring God, loving your neighbor, and anticipating endless glory with the Lord.

     As people who are in Christ, you get to enjoy not only the Christmas season, but every season.  For, “through (the Son) everything was made, and without him not one thing was made that has been made” (John 1:3).  All that he has made he made for you.  Therefore, you can receive all good things and make use of them with gratitude.  You get to enjoy the presents under the tree, a second helping of eggnog, a bunch of Christmas carols, an NFL contest, or a long winter’s nap.  These are not mere distractions; they are gifts from God.  And even if they are taken away, the Christmas joy remains.  And even if the season is not as merry and bright as you would have hoped, the light of Christ still shines.  Jesus bestows upon you the mercy which endures through sorrow and loss and even death.

     So, what is Christmas all about?  The Church has named it properly.  It is about Christ.  It is about the Mass.  It is about the love of the Father, revealed by Jesus Christ, grace upon grace, which is poured out upon you abundantly and endlessly. 

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

Sermon -- Christmas Eve Candlelight Service (December 24, 2024)

Our Christmas Eve service at Good Shepherd follows the Service of Lessons and Carols.  There are nine lessons.  A short devotion was given for eight of them.  Three of those devotions are below.

2^nd Lesson      Genesis 22:15-18      

         God never lies.  His word is always trustworthy and true.  And yet, God intensified his promise by saying, “I have sworn by myself.”  There is no higher authority to swear by, so the Lord swore by himself to Abraham.  “I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord…  In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed.”  God would send a Savior into the world.  The Savior comes for the whole world.  God stakes his reputation and his very being on it.  “In your seed,” God promised—no, God swore—"all the nations of the earth will be blessed.”

         God had tested Abraham, commanding him to offer up his beloved son as a sacrifice.  Abraham did not understand why, but he obeyed the word of the Lord.  He was prepared to offer up Isaac as a burnt offering, even having the knife drawn and ready to kill.  The Lord stepped in.  He called a halt to the sacrifice.  The death of Isaac would save no one.  Abraham’s faith and obedience had been proved genuine.  In place of Isaac, the Lord provided a ram whose horns were stuck in a thicket.  The ram was a substitute.  It was slain instead of Isaac.

     Abraham’s son, Isaac, foreshadowed the future Son of Abraham.  The Seed of Abraham would do what Isaac could not.  He would be slain to appease God.  God the Son, the only begotten Son of the Father, the Son whom he loved, would shed his blood to atone for the sins of all the world.  When he would be slain, the Father would not put a stop to it.  There would be no substitution, and there would be no mercy.  The Son would die.  His body would be consumed in God’s fiery wrath.  The Seed of Abraham would be the substitute, slain for you. 

         God has sworn by himself: All the people of the world would be blessed.  The Seed of Abraham takes away the sin of the world.    

4th Lesson        Micah 5:2-5a       

         When God created the world, he called all things into being out of nothing.  That is how God works: He takes what is nothing and makes it into something with which he is pleased.

         The cities and troops of Israel were organized in groups of thousands, and each was summoned by name to serve the Lord.  Though Bethlehem was among the towns of Judah, they were too insignificant to be listed among the thousands.  Bethlehem was little, obscure, unrecognized—like a small town with a blinking stop light at its one cross road.

         The Lord, however, takes what is nothing and makes it into something.  Out of little, insignificant Bethlehem comes a great king.  His origins are from of old, from ancient times.  If he exists long before the promise is even made, that means he is eternal. 

         Out of Bethlehem comes a king who is the eternal God.  He comes to shepherd his people.  He will provide for all his people’s needs.  He will protect his people from all that would destroy them.  The lion prowls around looking for someone to devour, but the Shepherd-King will fend him off.  The sheep tend to go astray, but he will search for them, put them up on his shoulders, and bring them back. 

         Out of Bethlehem comes one who will shepherd his people—a Good Shepherd.  He will guide his sheep by the words of his mouth.  He will encourage and instruct so that we walk the paths that are good and safe.  He proclaims words of comfort, admonition, and peace.  The sheep who hear his words and take them to heart live securely.  The prowling lion cannot have them. 

         There are many today who consider it an insult to be called a sheep.  They believe sheep to be gullible creatures that follow anyone.  But they don’t.  The sheep follow the shepherd they know.  We know our Good Shepherd.  He does not lead us to slaughter, but to pleasant pastures.  Some may regard sheep as nothing, but they are the ones with whom God is pleased.  For he takes what is nothing and makes it something good, something beloved, something precious.  He does that for you; for that is how God works.

8^th Lesson       Matthew 2:1-12                     The Magi worship the newborn King

         The Magi sought their king.  They already had a king in their homeland.  They met another king in Jerusalem.  But that’s not what they wanted.  They did not need a king who flexed his military muscle to demonstrate his power and to strike fear.  They needed a king who was rich in mercy and soothed fears.

         The Magi found their king.  They did not care that he was an infant—at the time totally dependent upon Mary and Joseph for everything, at the time hated by Herod and later hunted by him, at the time years from fulfilling all that he had come to do.  They knew he was king, and they bowed down before him.

         The Magi praised their king.  Even though Jesus had come for their good, they presented him with their goods.  They thanked him for work he had not yet done.  They paid homage to him even though he was not yet in his glory.  They rejoiced that their Savior had come.

         The Magi confessed their king.  Their journey to Bethlehem was no small feat.  But Jesus mattered enough to them to put forth the time and effort.  They made it a priority to see him.

         The Magi were saved by their king; for that is why he came. 

         This king still comes.  He comes veiled in word and sacrament to give his gifts of forgiveness, new life, and salvation.  If you would be wise for salvation, then it is wise to put forth time and effort and priority to come and worship him.  We do not come to God’s house for his good; rather, we come to receive his goods.  It is here that our Lord Jesus Christ continues to prepare us for death, to comfort us through life, and to sustain us in the saving faith.  It is good, right, and salutary to seek him and to confess him so that you would live under him in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness—just as he has risen from death and lives and rules eternally.  This is most certainly true.

Christmas 2025

Christmas Schedule at Good Shepherd

 

Christmas Eve

Candlelight Service

Tuesday, December 24, 

7:00 PM

Christmas Day

Festival Service

Wednesday, December 25,

10:00 AM

YouTube -- Christmas Day (December 25, 2023)

Here is the Divine Service from Christmas Day.

 

YouTube -- Christmas Eve (December 24, 2023)

Here is the service from Christmas Eve -- A Service of Lessons and Carols.

Sermon -- The Nativity of our Lord (December 25, 2023)

o logoV is "the Word",
St. John's name for God the Son,
the second person of the Trinity

JOHN 1:1-18

WE HAVE SEEN HIS GLORY.

In the name + of Jesus.

      In writing his Gospel about Jesus Christ, St. John seems to have all the apostles in mind when he states, “We have seen his glory” (John 1:14).  What glory is he thinking about?  It could be Jesus’ miracles.  That is the glory which was praised by the crowds throughout Palestine, from Galilee down to Judea.  When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, that was the reason the crowds were praising him.  “As he was drawing near … the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen” (Luke 19:37).  John also commented about Jesus’ miraculous signs, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book” (John 20:30).  “Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25).  Jesus’ miracles are certainly a reason to marvel and to praise him.  They revealed Jesus’ divine identity and power.  But that is not the glory John focuses on.

     What is the glory which John and the apostles witnessed?  To marvel at the glory of Jesus, John peers all the way back to eternity, before the creation of the universe.  John’s Gospel begins the same way that Genesis begins, “In the beginning” (John 1:1; Genesis 1:1).  This is the beginning of all things—matter, energy, time, and whatever exists.  Prior to the beginning, there was only God.  And Jesus was there—not on the flesh, that would come later.  But since he is God, he was there at the beginning, prior to the creation of the heavens and the earth.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3). 

      On the front of the bulletin, you see the Greek words, o logoV.  John calls God the Son “the Word.”  That is how God deals with mankind, through words.  When God created all things, he summoned everything into existence through his word.  When God revealed his will to mankind, he did it through words—whether on stone tablets, by prophetic preaching, or on scrolls and parchments.  False prophets relied on consulting the dead, on dreams which would not be verified, and on omens which could be interpreted according to one’s whims.  But God gives us a firm word to hold on to.

     We also use words to communicate.  While body language and tone of voice convey information, our words are the most important part of communication.  If you had to choose between losing your hearing and your sight, you might choose to lose your hearing because you want to see where you are going.  But what if you were given these options?  You can have an I-pad which enables you to always see your loved ones, or you can have a phone to hear your loved ones speak to you.  Almost everyone would want to hear his or her loved one’s voice because that is how we communicate.  We connect and bond through words.

     God has always communicated with the human race through words.  This is how we know his will, his commandments, his threats, and his promises.  God has not hidden himself so completely that we cannot know him.  But the connection with humanity became much more glorious when Jesus entered the world.  Jesus is the Word, God the Son, begotten of the Father from eternity.  And what happens at Christmas?  “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  God communicates to us through his word, but now the Word has become a man.  Now God enters the world to deal with us in person—not only to be heard, but to be seen, to be touched, and to have him touch others.  St. John marveled at this in his first epistle as well.  He wrote, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it” (1 John 1:1-2).  We have seen his glory.

      At various times in the Old Testament, the Lord revealed his glory to people, but never in his bare glory.  No person can see that and live.  God’s glory was always hidden behind something.  But even when God hid his glory, the people who saw it were terrified.  When the Lord called Moses to deliver God’s people out of Egypt, the glory of the Lord was hidden in the fire of a burning bush.  Moses quickly pulled up his cloak and  hid his face.  When Isaiah saw a vision of the Lord in heaven, he described only the Lord’s throne and the train of his robe.  Seeing just that, he was convinced that he was going to die.  St. Luke recorded that, when the angel appeared to the shepherds in the field, “the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear” (Luke 2:9).  The angel was not God, but he reflected God’s holiness.  That was enough to terrify the shepherds.

     We seldom think what it would be like to stand before the Lord.  Perhaps we are pleased enough with ourselves to presume that God would find no fault with us.  So, we dismiss any idea that we have reason to fear the Lord, despite repeated testimony in the Bible that teaches us that we should.  What does produce fear in us, then?  We are afraid when we are at the mercy of something much stronger than ourselves that we cannot control, such as a tornado or a thunderstorm.  We are afraid of something that can take our lives or the lives of our loved ones, such as a car accident, a virus, a rattlesnake, or war.  We know that we are helpless against such things.

     And yet, our Lord is far superior to any worldly power.  He controls the winds and the waves; therefore, he is stronger than the winds and the waves.  The Lord is in control of the events that take our lives and the lives of our loved ones.  The Bible teaches us to confess to God, “My times are in your hand” (Psalm 31:15).  Therefore, the Lord is greater than the events which take life.  So, if we fear thunderstorms, viruses, and war, how much greater should we fear the Lord!  Jesus teaches us, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).  This is why we feel terror when we let our minds rest from daily activity and ponder death and eternity.  We become acutely aware of our sins, and we feel the justice of God striking our hearts.  It is one thing to fear death which can only send us to the grave; it is another thing to fear the judgment which can send us to hell for endless torment.  The day will come when we will stand before God in his full glory.  We will have to answer for our lives.  He will deal with us according to his word of judgment which is final and eternally binding.  If you claim that you have never been struck by fear over these things, I have to believe you are lying.

     Since we cannot stand before God, God has chosen to come to us.  And since we cannot see him in his glory, he hides it under infant flesh so that it produces no terror.  Mary and Joseph do not run away from their newborn child.  They embrace him.  But they know his glory.  He is the Son of God.  This is the Word made flesh who has come to dwell with us.  When he becomes a full-grown man, he gathers disciples to himself.  They do not cover their faces or hide behind trees.  They follow him.  They listen to him.  He is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  Jesus knows the truth; he knows our sins.  But Jesus is full of grace: He has come to soothe our consciences and to remove our fears.  He has come to rescue us from the terrors of judgment and from the iniquities which condemn us.  His words are full of grace and peace because he comes to save us.

     We have seen his glory.  His divine glory is hidden under human flesh, but the glory of God is revealed in all that he says and does.  St. John wrote, “No one has ever seen God; the only God who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18).  Jesus has made the Father known to you.  He shows you a loving and merciful Father who does not delight in the death of anyone.  Actually, the Father does delight in the death of one—Jesus.  The Father was pleased to send Jesus to be a sin offering for us all.  The iniquities which scar our minds and hearts are taken from us.  They have scarred and marked Jesus instead.  Jesus bears the scars for our sins, and his holy, precious blood is the salve which heals our wounds and brings the cure for our curse.  The judgment which produces terror has been diverted from us and has crushed Jesus.  The grave which mocks us by telling us it has a place reserved for us has been filled by Jesus.  And then Jesus emptied his grave to show us that death’s door opens both ways.  It may close us in, but it will open again to release us to live again.  The Word became flesh so that his flesh could be nailed to a cross and die there.  And the flesh and blood Savior lives to ensure new and eternal life for us.

     This is the glory of God.  God’s love for you is revealed in the divine wrath which Jesus absorbed for you.  The sweetness of God is seen in Jesus’ bitter sufferings for you.  The Lord’s compassion is made known by Jesus’ passion.  Salvation has been won for you by the Word, and it is delivered to you by words.  The word of God is preached so that your gracious God will be made known to you.  The word is joined to the waters of baptism where you have been cleansed in Jesus’ holy innocence.  The word is added to the bread and the wine so that the body and blood of your God are given to you.  The Word became flesh to unite himself to you, and in the sacrament he strengthens that unity even more. 

     Although his glory is hidden in Jesus, his glory, his grace, and his truth are revealed in Jesus.  His glory is now hidden in you, as well.  For “to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).  You are the children of God.  And God does not just love you in theory; he loves you in person, as a person—for, the Word became flesh.  And he professes his love again and again.  God continues to speak to you through the words of the Bible.  God speaks his eternal, unchanging word so that you know his love is constant, and the glory that was once hidden will be seen by you and in you when Jesus comes again.

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