Sermon: Rorate Coeli (Advent 4) - 2020

20 December 2020

Text: John 1:19-28

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

St. John the Baptist is the model of every Christian.  Not that we are all called to be prophets, not all are called to preach, and not all are called to die for the sake of our confession of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But John models for us the Christian life because his whole reason for living was Jesus.

This is how we are to live, dear friends.  For God created each one of us for some purpose in the kingdom.  He gave us a certain personality, certain skills, certain strengths and certain weaknesses.  He calls us into the lives of certain individuals to make them complete, and to complete us.  He calls us into a specific earthly family, and He calls us into a specific spiritual family as well, that is, the local congregation. 

And we are, each one of us, part of His plan.  We are all important, from the greatest to the least, from the richest to the poorest.  And whether or not the world takes notice of us or even knows we exist, each one of us is part of God’s plan, and He knows us! 

St. John the Baptist was a great man.  In last week’s Gospel, we heard our Lord Jesus Christ say that, “Among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.”  And yet, John died while very young.  He never married or had children.  He was not wealthy.  He was scorned and mocked.  To the world, his life was wasted, for he criticized the king, but his criticism made no difference.  To the world, John is just one more rabble-rouser who fought the law, and the law won; just another victim of a tyrannical ruler, just another nobody whose life ended tragically because of a scheming woman and her seductive daughter who danced for the king, and they tricked the king into ending John’s life.  To the world, John did not amount to anything.  His life did not matter.

But, dear friends, we do not see things as the world does.  Our Lord praises John’s greatness because John did exactly what he was called to do: to be the last of the Old Testament prophets, to proclaim the coming of the kingdom, to baptize our Lord Jesus Christ and inaugurate His ministry, and to point the world to the Messiah who has come to be “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.”

John sought no fortune or fame for himself.  John was not jealous of his cousin Jesus.  John did not try to parlay his popularity into money or a comfortable house.  As Jesus pointed out, John did not live in a king’s palace or wear soft clothing.  John’s entire life revolved around Jesus.

John’s entire life, dear friends, revolved around Jesus.

And this is why John the Baptist is a model and a pattern for the life of all of us, a true saint to emulate, especially in this sacred time of year when even nature itself points us to the coming of our Savior.  And in spite of the scoffing of the skeptics, the evidence does indeed point to December 25 as the actual birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ, based on the timing of the birth of John the Baptist, whose father served a specific cohort of temple priests whose schedule we know.  And we know that our Lord’s mother visited John’s mother Elizabeth while she was six months pregnant with John.  The math works out, and December 25 is the birthday of our Lord.  And even if you are not convinced of this – and you are free to disagree since Scripture doesn’t explicitly say – the church around the world celebrates the coming of Jesus when nature’s darkness is at its peak : the time of the winter solstice.  And the sky also held signs that pointed to the coming of the Messiah, heavenly signs that guided the Magi in their long journey to visit our Lord.

Along with nature, the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms all point us to Jesus, even as the preaching of John the Baptist does.  The entire Bible, Old and New Testaments, are focused on Jesus, who serves like a pivot around which the entire Scripture rotates. 

We too, dear friends, are like John insofar as we owe our existence to Jesus, our purpose, our reason for being.  We draw each breath by His grace, and for some purpose of His divine will.  Whether we are preachers or hearers, parents or children, whether we work or stay home, whether we are employees or bosses, students or teachers, no matter what our particular calling or vocation, we exist to live in harmony with God’s creation, to glorify Him, and to confess Jesus as Messiah, so that others of our fallen race might also be lifted up to live forever, being renewed by His grace, saved by His blood, and made victors over sin, death, and the devil by His cross.

As St. Paul preaches, “in Him we live and move and have our being.”

We were not created for our own pleasure, nor for someone else to use us for their own pleasure.  We were created for our calling in the Lord’s kingdom – and John the Baptist’s birth, ministry, and death – his entire life from cradle to grave – was about Jesus.

Dear brothers and sisters, it is easy to forget this, as we live lives in pursuit of pleasure and material goods, as we have the luxury to seek out entertainment and leisure, and even amid the business of the things that we must do in our vocations.  It is easy to forget about why we are here, to think of God’s kingdom as something we get involved with if we have time, or if we are thinking about it at some point.  In reality, we owe everything to our Lord Jesus Christ, who created us, and who in spite of our sin, has redeemed us.  He gives our lives meaning and purpose, and every good thing that we have in our lives – though we are tempted to take credit ourselves – comes from Him.

And as Christmas approaches, it is easy to forget what its meaning is.  It isn’t really about presents and Santa and decorated houses, a tree, colorful lights, or even good times with family.  The entire point of Christmas is summed up in the word itself: Christmas: Christ’s Mass, that is, Jesus Christ is the focus of the holy seasons of Advent and Christmas, for Christ is the Alpha and the Omega.  And it is the Mass of Christ, that is, His coming to us in the Divine Service of His Word and of His body and blood. 

All of the other wonderful things about Christmas: the food, the fellowship, the traditions, the movies, the music, family time, the joy on the faces of children, the memories of each passing year – all of these are only of secondary importance to hearing Christ proclaimed in His Word, and partaking of His body and blood.

John the Baptist understood that his life was wrapped up in Jesus, and he even handed off his own followers to become disciples of our Lord.  John said, “He must increase, and I must decrease.”  And this is truly John’s greatness, that he pointed everyone to Jesus, and that his entire life was lived for the sake of Jesus, his Savior, his Redeemer, His God.

And when John was pressed with questions by people who hated him, John “confessed, and did not deny.”  And so do we, dear friends, we confess Christ.  We do not deny Christ.  We glorify Christ, not ourselves.  We share the good news of Christ.  And we have the promise of eternal life because of Christ.  Let us rejoice in His coming.  And let our very lives show forth our Lord Jesus Christ to the world.

Amen.

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