December 9, 2020 – Advent                                                            Text:  Matthew 1:18-23

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Last week we found out that we were expecting.  Once this news is shared with everyone then the preparations begin.  The birth of a first child that it was for Joseph and Mary usually brings more things to get ready because you have never been through it before and most of us do not buy baby things until baby is on the way.

            For Toni and I we had basically zero things for a child.  We would need a crib, and a changing table and a car seat and a stroller and onesies and diapers and lots of orange and blue clothing and oh don’t forget plenty of balls to throw to the young one.  I can’t remember exactly but I am sure family or friends or even church members purchased some of these items.  We were blessed.  Even in Kansas City Chief country they gave away at their school auction a Chicago Bears gift basket.  They made sure Pastor and Mrs. Lueck would be the recipients. 

            The one thing we did not prepare for was this – what sex would the child be?  We are so happy we didn’t know and it really was one of our better decisions in life.  We loved the surprise.  Still today I feel the same way when a couple we know is pregnant.  Tell me after the birth.

            Joseph and Mary did know the sex of their child.  This was no ultrasound reveal.  This was a Lord reveal.  They would find out even more about their baby to be.  Come along then, as these new parents get ready for the birth of their first child.

“PREPARATION”

            Was there anything unusual about the preparations you made for your child?  Maybe you had to paint a room?  Did you study Consumer Reports to find the most effective diaper?  Did you have to prepare mentally for this change in your life?

            That was one of the biggest challenges that Joseph had.  He has a wife to be that he hasn’t had intercourse with and a baby is on the way.  Huh?  How can this be? as Mary had asked.  The Scripture gives us a glimpse of Joseph.  We can see he is a compassionate and caring human being.  He did not want to shame Mary or cause her death by stoning so he was going to divorce her.  He was going to do this without fanfare or public scrutiny.

            Well, the Lord had some other plans for this preparation.  He sends an angel to enter Joseph’s dreams and to tell him that he is not to fear.  The Holy Spirit conceived the child Mary is carrying.  And now comes the sex reveal, “She will bear a son.”  And now the name reveal – “you shall call his name Jesus.”  And now the purpose of his life reveal – “he will save his people from their sins.”  Any of you get this much detail about your son or daughter? 

            Was there any fear in your mind about being parent?  I personally had none.  God had been preparing me for this my whole life.  As a child I took mental notes of parenting.  Both from my mom and dad and from others I observed.  I knew I was ready to be a father.  Many years later it is one of the great gifts I have been privileged to be a part of.

            Joseph must have felt the same way once he woke up.  But before that the angel had more to say.  The child he would father and the child Mary would bore was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah.  Man, this dream just keeps getting better and better.  The best news Joseph received in that sleep was this – “God with us.”  How could there be anything to be afraid of?  God would be with Joseph and Mary.  He would be living in their home and attending temple with them and working in his father’s carpenter shop.  The Lord would be guiding.

            That is always how I have seen things.  God wasn’t our physical child but He has been there.  He was there when our sons had high fevers at night and you weren’t sure whether to go the hospital or medicate them at home.  He was there as we got them to church and out of the house as soon as possible.  He was there so that we never lived in fear or worry when they were out with the car late at night.  He was there at baptism and confirmation and now into their young adult lives.

The prayer is that we can all say these things.  The Lord was there.

            God was in control.  Sometimes our preparations in life don’t go the way we expect – just ask Joseph.   We don’t chart our own course.  Christ’s coming into the world changes us.  He changes us from fearful human beings to saved children of God.  He changes us from masters of our own destiny to trustful followers of Jesus Christ.  He changes the end of our story from souls destined to hell to hopeful people who know that the glory of heaven awaits.  He prepares us for that moment as He comes to us in His Word and through Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.  He knows what we need because God is in control.

            The preparation is nearing the end and the birth is getting closer and closer.  What an exciting time.  A child is to be born.  Are things ready for the trip?  We’ll find out next week.

                                    Amen.

December 6, 2020                                                                            Text:  Mark 1:1-8

Dear Friends in Christ,

            A few years back was a cartoon of a husband and wife sitting in their nicely decorated living room getting ready for Christmas.  The wife had a frown on her face and looked completely exhausted.  The husband says, “Of course, you’re depressed – ‘tis the season to be jolly.”

            Where are you at as we get into the month of December?  One thing we tend to do in these days is to look backward.  We romanticize our childhood or when our own kids were little.  We get a little melancholy.  But Christian people follow a star because we are not looking for the way it used to be but what we need.

“GOD’S REPLY TO NOSTALGIA”

            I think you will find this Merriam-Webster definition of “nostalgia” quite enlightening.  “Homesickness.  A wistful yearning for something past or irrecoverable.”  This is mostly an adult emotion.  Why?  Because as adults we would like to go back to being children at Christmas.  No responsibilities.  No decorations to get out.  No cards and letters to send.  No gifts to buy.  No baking to get done.  We all got Christmas without the anxiety.  Open gifts.  Play with toys.  Dad and mom telling us where to be and when.  We didn’t have to worry about politics or religion or uncomfortable family gatherings.  We had no idea what was going on.  Heck, it was a great time to a kid.  As somebody once said, “Some of our most vivid memories are of things that never happened, for we remember the images and the imagination of our childhood dreams.”

            Earlier I said we get melancholy.  This definition is not pretty.  “Mental condition marked by extreme depression often with delusions.”  Ouch!  Add in the preceding nine months before December and melancholy and depression and anxiety are bursting out all over.

            We need a future.  We need something stable.  What’s the answer?  How do we get the merry-go-round to stop?  Our text is the starting point.  “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (v. 1)  It is good news from God.  What He gives does not change.  God replies not with a nostalgic look at our past but a present look at what He has given us through His Son Jesus.  We look forward to all that Christ brings and that will never, ever change.

            Mark reports, “John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (v. 4)  You know John, right?  Isaiah speaks about him in our Old Testament reading this morning.  John’s message was not a morbid groveling around in what was but a spiritual lift to what is.  Repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  The grace of God through Christ who comes to forgive and take away our guilt and remorse of our yesterdays – our todays – and our tomorrows.

            It is a message that is pointing forward.  “And he preached, saying, ‘After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.  I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’” (v. 7-8)

            This is Advent and Christmas.  It’s joy to the world because Jesus loves us with an everlasting love that cleanses our sinfulness.  Christ has come to guide us through this world by His Word – the Holy Scriptures.  Christ goes to a shameful cross to spill His blood so that the guarantee of our salvation would be sealed.

            During these times we are so concerned about everyone’s mental health or their physical health.  Important, yes.  But what about the spiritual health of every God-created man and woman?  Is that too going to become nostalgic?  “O I remember the faith I once enjoyed.  The church that was so beautiful.  The singing that was uplifting.  The message of Christ crucified that Pastor delivered.”

            The voice is crying in the wilderness.  “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”  The past is past.  God in heaven knows our sinfulness.  He forgives us so that we can be givers and not takers.  He minimizes our nostalgia and helps us let go of our melancholy.  We stand with John on that first Advent.  We stand in the light of a life of service to Jesus Christ.  The One who loves us with an everlasting love.  And you know something?  That is how God replies to our nostalgia.

                                                                                                                                    Amen.