Isaiah 61: 10-62:3 

Psalm 147:13-21 

Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18 

John 1:1-18 

“Word made Flesh” 

Grace and Peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen. 

Note: The original title of this sermon was changed to “Word  made Flesh”. 

On this 9th day of Christmas, when it seems like the  Christmas Spirit is waning as we prepare for the rest of the church  calendar and school schedule and future holidays, there is still  much to celebrate about. I for one was still celebrating Christmas  yesterday as the Hileman family, my mom's side, came together  for the Christmas season. We played games, ate plenty of  different foods, and just hanged out. My Grandfather gave his  usual dinner prayer/sermon. And we enjoyed our time as all forty some of us caught up with each other's lives while talking about  Christmas. Yet as I go to the stores I notice that as the Christmas  sale stuff is twiddling the Valentine stuff is already up. I think they  are available too early; my mother would disagree by saying that  is just over a month away; I would counter, that's the point, its  over a month away. But then again, we shouldn't trust in the  commercial business to keep with the holiday traditions. 

What about music? You've heard me complain about this,  but I've always find it odd when a Christian station plays  Christmas music during the season of Advent, but go back to their  non-Christmas music during the season of Christmas. I mean, 

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what gives, you call yourself a Christian Station; do you not know  the Christmas Seasons or at least the basics of Christmas? There  is a reason why there is a song called, “The Twelve days of  Christmas,” and I know that you, the Christian Station, knows it  exists because I remember you playing the Muppet version of the  song just last week. You know, the version when Ms. Piggy sings,  “Twelve golden rings... bu-dun-bum-bu.” At least there were a  couple of channels that played Christmas music on the second  and third day of Christmas, but by the fourth day even their  Christmas Spirit started to fizzle out. But to be fair most Christian  Stations are Baptist, or confused Baptist. If one can't believe in  infant baptism nor in the literal presence of Christ's body and  blood in the Eucharist when Christ quite clearly tells and  commands us this is so, then do you believe that one would  honestly know that there are twelve days of Christmas, let alone  faithfully observe such? So I guess we shouldn't trust in the music  industry to keep with the holiday traditions. 

So whom can we trust? Well obviously Orthodox Churches,  such as our own, for it is quite clear we are still celebrating  Christmas today. We can also trust in ourselves and our families,  for if we truly wish to observe Christmas all season then we will. I  for one kept my Christmas tree up all year this last year, but that  was mostly because I was too lazy to put it down and it adds a  nice splash of green to the house. But my tree is still up. And we  most certainly can trust that Christ will always remind us the  importance of the season. 

Let it be known, there is never a bad time to thank God for  sending His Son into the world. There is never a bad time to 

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praise God for the incarnation of our Lord and Savior who came  to us in flesh to live among us, to eat like us, to rest like us, to  work like us, to grow like us, and to die like us, though in a more  tragic way. We talk about the cross throughout the whole year,  mostly because as Lutherans our theology is literally called the  Theology of the Cross, we are cross-central confessional  Christians, but that doesn't mean we cant talk about the manger  throughout the whole year as well. At least, thank Christ for  entering into our lives. To thank him for blessing us with his  eternal presence in the flesh. To thank him for shattering the dark  silence, for he is the Word. 

Now in our Gospel, we read that, “the light shines in the  darkness.” The world is darkness, and before Christ came this  was most certainly true. We know we are born with Original Sin,  and that nothing we do will ever merit us forgiveness. Paul tells us  quite plainly that that is blatantly obvious for if we could merit  forgiveness through the Law, aka Works, then we would have and  there would have been no need for Christ to come into our lives.  But, because we are all slaves to sin, we couldn't save ourselves,  therefore we needed a Savior to have faith alone in. Before Christ  no one could enter heaven, for all had fallen into sin. And it is  because of our sins that this world is darkness itself. Though God  created all and deemed all good after creating everything, it is  because of our sins that the world darkened. We are the reasons  why the world is darkness, not God. God instead is the light, so  when God came into our lives in the form of the Christ child, it  was like a light suddenly, and finally, turned on in the vast ever  darkness. Christ is the true light, he alone guides us out of the  darkness, and he alone saves.

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The contrast before and after the birth of Christ is stark. For  before Christ there was pure darkness. You couldn't see the path  in front of you, let alone your feet. Were you on concrete or stone  or grass or swamp? When you made your next step what would  your foot land on? No one knew. We were lost in our darkness, in  the wilderness, and the way home was unclear. The Kingdom  where God reigns was lost to us. We knew of it, but not how to  get to it. The Home of our Father, was somewhere, but because  of our incompetence to wade through the darkness, there is no  hope of ever reaching it by our own power. But after the true light  came into the world, the way home became clear. A light was  revealed, and the light shone on the path, and in the light was the  door of our Father's house. So long as we walked in the light, or  get back into the light if we were to stumble along the way, then  we will reach home. Again not by our own power, but wholly  because of the light that guides us. 

But there is another contrast expressed in our Gospel,  though not explicitly. We talk about darkness and light, but what  about silence and noise? Is not Christ the Word? Words make  noise, but Christ is not a mere noise nor a mere word but the true  Word. He is the one whose coming shatters the silence. When  Christ made the world alongside the Father and the Spirit – in  accordance with Genesis which says, “Let us make Man in our  image,” and in our Gospel which says, “All things were made  through him,” with regards to the Word – he spoke and it came  into being. All that was created was created through the Word of  God, in the form of a verbal command. God spoke, and it was.

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But in our sinfulness, we lowly creatures who live in  darkness, live also in silence. The truth is not in us, we know not  the truth, and even when it is revealed to us, unless we are of the  truth, reborn in it, we ignore the truth. Left to ourselves, we not  only wonder in darkness but a eerie darkness that is void of the  truth, void of the Word. This silence we lived in was harsh. The  only times when the silence was cracked was when the Lord God  spoke to or through a prophet. To the average citizen, the only  hope of escaping the silence was to hear a prophet, that was if  there was a prophet. And it wasn't even the prophet that cracked  the silence but God Himself through the prophet. We not only  lived in dark times, but also in silent times. 

So When Christ did come into the world in the form of a  child, wailing like every other babe upon birth, His cry was the cry  that all had waited long for. His coming didn't merely crack the  silence, but shattered it as the world was forever changed. He  was the Word made flesh, so as he entered the world of silence  which knew not the truth it was like a chorus of angels and a  fanfare of a thousand trumpets suddenly and abruptly lit up a  silent auditorium where not even a breath was heard. His coming  forever changed us, for He is the spoken Truth we've waited so  long for. 

You've heard the saying, democracy dies in darkness, let me  tell you that darkness dies with the Truth. 

You've heard the song “The Sound of Silence,” a sad song  of hopelessness about a man whose words of warning fall on the  deft ears of those who worshiped a fabricated god which 

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encourages silence. Let me tell you instead, that silence cannot  coexist with the presence of Christ who is the very example of the  loud truth that cannot be quieted. 

You've heard the first first of Silent night, may even be able  to recite it, but let me tell you the second verse. For even though  the song begins with the words silent night, holy night, the second  verse enlightens us with the knowledge that that night was  anything but silent. “Silent night, holy night! Shepherds quake at  the sight; Glories stream from heaven afar, Heavenly hosts sing  Alleluia! Christ, the Savior, is born! Christ, the Savior is born!” If  you look at the verse closely, hymn 65 in the green hymnal, you  would notice that every single sentence ends with an explanation  mark! The verse is practically shouting to all who hear that angels  are singing and that the savior is born. On top of that, as I hear  this verse I am reminded of the words of another Lutheran pastor  who says as you hear these Christmas songs that mention  silence, way the silence of the world against the deafening birth of  the Word made flesh. 

So whereas you may take down the decorations and cease  the Christmas music, that does not mean you have to leave  behind the Christmas Spirit. So long, throughout the year, you  never forget that the Word that was there since the beginning  came into the world and became flesh, know this, the Christmas  Spirit is still within you. You may not have candy canes or hot  chocolate or wreaths or tree. You may even be worshiping with a  jazz band outside. But so long as you remember the Word made  flesh, the birth, then you are maintaining the core of Christmas. 

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And whereas it might be a little odd, I wouldn't mind the  occasional Christmas song out of season. 

Let us pray, 

Dear Heavenly Father, if left to ourselves we would surely be  lost in our silent darkness, but because you love us beyond all  understanding you gave to us your Son, the Christ Child, Word  made flesh, to be the brilliant Truth that leads us to. In your holy  name we pray, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Micah 5: 2-4

Psalm 80: 1-7

10: 5-10

Luke 1: 39-55

“John Leaps”

Grace and Peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.

With Mary and Joseph, both up to date on God's plan for them, both had the courage and patience and goodwill to follow through with their betrothal to each other and to raising the child that was in Mary's womb. Yet, you can imagine the rumors they feared might arise. Eventually, some will note the baby bump, and calculate that Mary was with child before the wedding. Some may suggest that Mary was unfaithful; some might suggest that Joseph and Mary was impatient and committed sin not waiting until after their wedding. Either way, because the prophecy of Christ demanded a virgin birth, Mary in particular was placed in a most unfortunate and incredibly unique situation.

Now, of all of Mary and Joseph's friends and family, the two who would have been the most understanding and protective of them would have been Elizabeth and Zechariah. They knew this because, Gabriel told Mary of the blessing that was given to Elizabeth. So due to this unique situation Joseph and Mary was placed under, They decided to seek the aid of Elizabeth, that is until the census kicked in and they were required by Roman law to go to Bethlehem.

So as Mary approached Elizabeth, this being the first time Mary and Elizabeth have met since Jesus was conceived, something marvelous happened. The unborn individual who was to be named John leaped in Elizabeth's womb upon meeting the unborn individual in Mary's womb who was to be named Jesus. This was not a meeting between two people, Mary and Elizabeth. This was a meeting between four people: Mary, Elizabeth, Jesus, and John. Now John, though touched by the Holy Spirit, was still an unborn human being. But in the eyes of God, it matters not if you are born or unborn, the blessing of meeting Jesus extends to all persons, for life begins at conception and it is faith, which comes from the Spirit, and not reason that leads living persons to acknowledging Christ. And we know for a fact that John the unborn, who was touched by the Holy Spirit, was most definitely so excited with being blessed by Jesus' presence that he leaped with joy.

And it was this leap that compelled Elizabeth to call Mary the Mother of our Lord, which is where we get the title Mother of God, and Elizabeth's proclamation of joy then compelled Mary to give her own proclamation, which we call today, the Magnificat, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Mary must have been bottling up so many emotions: worry, confusion, elation, anxiety, the need to say something. It wasn't until Elizabeth acknowledged that Mary was blessed for in her womb was the Messiah, that Mary exploded with joy. A domino effect of giving praise, and it all began with the first jolt of joy, John leaping.

Let us pray,

Dear Heavenly Father, as Christmas comes closer fill us with your Spirit so that we too become so elated with happiness, knowing that Jesus did is already here and has already saved us, that we leap with joy and with words of praise of you on our lips. In your Holy Name we pray, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Isaiah 62: 10-12

Psalm 98

Titus 4-7

Luke 2: 1-20

“God Is Here, Emmanuel”

Grace and Peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.

It is finally Christmas, and the Christ Child that we had waited long for to has been born. For the last four weeks we have been preparing for the coming babe, decorating with lights and garland and trees and ornaments and wreaths. In our own way, we have been preparing our own houses as royal highways for the Lord. And now He is here. Emmanuel, which means God Is Here, has arrived. And this is what Christmas is all about, the core, the center piece, the corner stone of which the season of Christmas rests upon; the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who was and is and is to come, the one who will gift himself up as the most precious of blessings, Salvation from sin itself. This is most certainly true, that Christ, which is the whole point of everything, is here, Emmanuel.

And know that Christ is here do we stop the Christmas music? Do we put down the decorations? Do we put away the Royal Highway? We still have 10 more days of Christmas left! Let us at least be merry and gay, not in the secular way, but in a joyous Christian way – let us be merry and gay at least a little longer as we celebrate alongside all the preparations; but merry in what way? If you have family, spend time with them and boldly give cheers to the Lord together in person. If you have friends nearby, do likewise and spread the good news. If you have a good voice, keep on singing the mirth of the Christ Child, as the song implies, “Go Tell it on the Mountain, that Jesus Christ is born.” And if you don’t have these things, if you struggle to find joy, know this, Christ who was born in a device meant to feed animals, who was born in a smelly loud barn stable, who was not allowed to be born in more comfortable conditions such as inside due to overcrowding caused by the census, who was wrapped in cloths meant for lambs, who was a king born in such humble estate, He was born to give joy for all, to include those who also struggled the same way Mary and Joseph struggled. He was born for the downtrodden. He was born for the persecuted, the poor, the wrongfully attacked, the anxious, the humiliated, the diseased, the abandoned; he was born for all people, to include those who struggle to find a light, for He will be your light.

Emmanuel… God is not some clockmaker who winds the clock, or world, up and then leaves it behind. He came to live amongst us. He took on flesh, to be like us, to truly know our pain and our struggle, and to die as well. He doesn’t abandon us, nor did he, like some scholastics would have us believe, but He is always with us, and as proof, he came to us in the form of a babe, God is with us, Emmanuel.

And speaking of scholastics, as well as all those evil ideologues who have twisted poor troubled souls with crafty but oh so unintelligent schemes into believing horrible false notions about Christmas in order to damage our faith in the Christ Child. These includes the malicious beliefs that Christmas is actually a pagan holiday, that Advent wreaths and Christmas trees are pagan in nature, and other things. Here is the fact, not one of our Christian Christmas traditions was founded on paganism. Not one. Do not believe those evil organizations that attack Christmas and Christianity, but instead believe that at the core of Christmas is the Christ Child. Focus solely on Him.

So what is the truth about our Advent/Christmas traditions? In each and everyone one of them is the core of pointing us in some way towards Christ. They serve as imagery of life and color and joy during this season; and the history of each of them are remarkably rich. The first is the date of Christmas. Oh how the parading Grinches love their idiotic nonsense on how Christmas was established to override the roman holiday of Saturnalia. Ignore the fact that Saturnalia is actually traditionally conducted at the beginning of December. Ignore the fact that Saturnalia was established two centuries after Christmas. Ignore that Christmas was established by second and third generation Christians a century after Christ. So why December 25? Did you know that practically all well-learned Judean-Christians during the time after Jesus believed that the world was created on March 25th? Did you know that the early Christians with many years of study together came to the consensus that Christ must have started and ended his life on the day most Christians believed Christ also started the world? And did you know according to their logic, these first century Christians, that if Christ started his life on March 25, then nine months later on December 25 must be the day of his birth. That is how we got December 25th. It was all about Christ’s birth, death, and creation itself.

Well what about our decorations? Let me tell you something fascinating, most of our Christmas decoration traditions were started by Martin Luther or Lutherans in general. And guess what, none of them are influence by paganism. Do not believe the drivel of those who lie to you about how our traditions are not Christ centered but pagan in nature. The most obvious symbol is the Christmas tree.

Now after the black plague, Germany was looking for something to counter the years of dread and death. So during the time of the Reformation, practically all people, Christian, Jew, and others, started to decorate their houses with more greenery. And during the wintery season, evergreen was the perfect decoration for it brought vibrant green into a home. It was a general consensus, but the Lutherans decided to use this as an opportunity to teach Christ. Martin Luther loved music, he loved images; he loved anything and everything that could be used to teach the truth about Christ. So he used this new tradition, which was not pagan in nature, to decorate the first Christmas tree. It was trimmed to maintain its triangle shape so as to incentivize the holy trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; candles where placed in it to represent the light that is Christ who came into the world; a star/angel on top for obvious reasons; and popcorn decorations which were white to represent the holiness and purity of this baby born without original sin.

Now because Germans are very efficient people, they used the trimmings of the Christmas tree to further decorate the house such as making wreaths. Now in Roman culture, the wreath is the roman version of a crown. You know the green laurel thing found resting on the ears of roman rulers? That is the Roman Wreath, or roman crown. And since Germany was the Holy Roman Empire, when they thought of crowns, they used the typical image of a crown in Jesus’ time, the roman wreath. It should also be noted that in the 200’s, a saint who went by the name of Lucia, made the point of wearing a wreath crown with candles tied to it to light her way as she carried food for the poor and hungry and little ones. She also intentionally wore this crown of candles as a way to teach Christ who is the light of the world. Now the foul mouth Grinches would tell you that wreaths and lighting of candles is based off of a Saturnalia tradition… Ignore the fact that Saturnalia was establish a century after St Lucia. But based off the example of St Lucia and her wreath with candles, Martin Luther, started the tradition of making wreaths. Traditionally a crown of evergreen laid on a table with a single white candle in the center to represent Christ is Here, Emmanuel, a centerpiece traditionally found on a Lutheran dinner table.

More candles were also added so as to help little ones count down the weeks for Christmas. Even our food drive and coat drives during Christmas is influenced by St Lucia. And our candle light service? You guessed it, St Lucia. Now there was usually more trimmings leftover so additional wreaths were made and decorated and hung on the Christmas as the first ornaments. Eventually we started hanging these wreaths elsewhere throughout the house, and by the 1920’s the usage of wreaths in America was no longer uniquely Lutheran, and yes wreaths for the majority of American history was a Lutheran tradition, but was used by most Christians.

And one last Christian tradition that surprised me. Santa Clause was also influenced by Martin Luther. December 9th was the day most Christians during the Reformation remembered St Nicholas who was widely popular. St Nicholas who was famous for giving children presents and punching heretics in the face, ignore that latter half we don’t need kids punching heretics in the face. But Martin Luther, fearful that as St Nicholas became more popular that the common person who forget the connection between gifting presents, of which was a common tradition on December 9th, and the most glorious gift of all, Jesus Christ – Luther established the practice of gathering presents on Christmas Eve, thus starting the merger of December 9th’s St Nicholas feast day with Christmas Eve, resulting in Santa Claus. Why because, Luther did not want us to forget that the most important gift of all was, is, and will always be Jesus Christ.

So as we observe Christmas these next ten days, let us sing, and keep our decorations and our traditions, with this most important message always in our hearts: the core of Christmas and all we do is Christ.

Let us pray,

Dear Heavenly Father, lead us away from the temptations of the Devil who teaches sweet distracting gibberish and instead always keep in our hearts the truth, which is that you indeed came into the world, our king and Savior, to reign now and forever. Amen.

Zephaniah 3: 14-18a 

Isaiah 12: 2-6 

Philippians 4: 4-9 

Luke 3: 7-18 

“A Mere Prophet” 

Grace and Peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen. 

For the longest of time, Israel was without a prophet.  Complete silence for centuries, a void, a darkness, has  overshadowed Israel. It was like when all the animals have  rushed away and an eerie silence befalls a community as the  background white noise disappears before the coming storm or  earthquake. And a massive was indeed coming, coming in the  form of Christ’s arrival. But there was an eerie silence, for the last  prophet who walked on the earth was Malachi. You may know  him as the author of the final book of the Old Testament, the final  book, named after him, Malachi. The Old Testament, the Torah is  a living document meant to be a historical account of the  Judeans, therefore with each prophet a new book was usually  added. But with the eerie silence that befell the people of God, a  silence that lasted 3 to 4 centuries, The Torah and the history of  Israel stagnated, ever waiting for the next prophet. 

So when the next prophet did finally show up, his arrival lead  to a most curious reaction. John the Baptizer, a prophet to  prepare the people for the coming Messiah, preached simple  things and baptized with mere water. Yes, he was a prophet, but  because Israel was without a prophet for so long, their perception  of him was grander than whom he truly was. He spoke with fire 

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and brimstone, calling out hypocrites as he disparaged his own  listeners with derogatory names such as brood of vipers. He  called out the fact that instead of repenting they hid behind  Abraham. That is no different than a Christian swollen with pride  hiding behind Christ in order to excuse sinful actions and not  repent. He called them out and warned them the end times is  coming, which is the coming Lamb of God who must die on the  cross to save us from our sins. 

Concerned, the crowds asked him what they must do while  also asking to be baptized. And John gave them obvious  answers, answers that should have led to a nonchalant reaction.  This includes telling them help the needy, don’t steal, don’t lie,  have gratitude; things that the Judeans should already be doing.  But because they do not do these things and because it has been  a long time since a legitimate teacher has come to tell them the  Law, they didn’t just started seeing John as a prophet, but they  overreacted so hard that they started asking if whether or not  John was Christ. 

You may have heard stories of kids who are so horribly  abused that they just don’t know what genuine goodness is. They  are ridiculed, persecuted, attacked, emotionally manipulated, and  beaten. Once rescued, they finally experience genuine care, as a  

parent or a friend or a normal civilized person would naturally  provide. Yet because, said child has never known kindness, such  actions may become too much to handle and those who first  treated them with care become like gods to them.

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John is providing simple messages that should be naturally  understood by the common Judean, but this mere prophet in the  eyes of a people who felt abandoned was no mere prophet but  their saving grace. He may be a messenger, but that is all he is.  Thus John explained to those who reacted with joy at this  apparent Christ-like figure, that he is only baptizing them with  water, but the true Christ who is coming, and is in fact already  here, will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. This is why we say  baptism is not an act of man but an act of God, because through  baptism you indeed, 100%, will receive the Holy Spirit. And if you  think that John the baptizer is so great, Christ who is coming and  is already here is so much greater that John is unworthy to untie  Christ’s sandals, a task that would be done by slaves. 

John is a mere prophet, but if you think so fondly of him,  then boy are you going to be surprised when the real deal comes.  So you are impressed by the words of John? Wait until you hear the real Christ. You think John is fire and brimstone? You haven’t  heard such yet. You think John preaches good news? Christ is  the Good News. Yes, it is okay to be amazed by John, but his job  is to point us towards Christ whose amazingness dwarfs John. 

Let us pray, 

Dear Heavenly Father, by sending John to prepare us you  allowed us to get a heads up on your arrival and to heighten our  expectations of you. Help us to never grow lax in observing your  Law and know that your Grace will always be more than our  human understanding. In your holy name we pray, Father, Son,  and Holy Spirit. Amen.