Jesus’s Word belongs in your heart, contemplated by your mind, and spoken by your mouth. You were remade in the waters of Baptism to be the dwelling place for Jesus and His Word. The Father wants Jesus to be with you daily, everywhere you go, in everything you do, and behind every word you say. By hearing preaching and receiving teaching, Jesus is sown, takes root, grows, and flourishes in you to bear fruits of faith toward God and active love for one another.

But Christ’s kingdom is not of this world, and you have already been brought in. For Christ, nothing stands in the way of transforming you and His Church into a little heaven. It doesn’t matter your socio-economic status. Your age, sex, or ethnicity is not a barrier or qualifier. You don’t have extraordinary gifts, talents, time, or wealth to contribute. You can even be crippled, lame, blind, deaf, dumb, and be brought in. You can even be a sinner—or worse, chief of sinners, and that’s no obstacle. Christ Jesus gives what no other god, secular or pagan, can provide. He forgives sins fully and completely. He cares for all generously and without expectation of return. He brings all those who hear His voice and follow Him into His vineyard, sheepfold, and harvest.

So, God located Himself for them. With the bright cloud, He said I am here for you. With His words, He locates Himself and with His name. The bright cloud is called His shekinah and His glory. "The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days, and on the seventh day, he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.” Or, if you prefer, “After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;  and He was transfigured before them” (Mt 17:1).

Great faith can ask without ceasing for healing that God can only give. And I live trusting that as God the Holy Trinity has given Naomi new life in Baptism, and forgiven her sin, then God has also promised to preserve her life both now and most certainly into the resurrection on the last day. When I think I have failed in being a Christian, I can’t seek feelings or wait for victories or look for successes to believe in and witness about. Nor can I dig about in my heart to discover a strong and victorious faith. No, I can only be steadfast in prayer, constantly go to Jesus, awaiting the word from His lips, and humble myself under the mighty hand of God "that in due time he may exalt [me and you].”

Jesus loves weddings. He cares for marriage. From the beginning, He created us male and female and wrote marriage into the fabric of nature. Thus, it is no coincidence that the first miracle recorded in John's Gospel is at a wedding. He blessed and honored marriage with His presence at Cana’s wedding feast. The Word became flesh and comes to restore flesh to be in conformity with the Word. It is Jesus who spoke man into existence after His own image. When He saw Adam, he said, "It is not good for man to be alone." Then He took from Adam's side a rib and formed it into Eve, the woman. Male and female, He made them. He gave this woman to Adam to be his bride. She was given to love and serve, and He was given to protect, provide, and love.

We were created to love and be loved. We were made to live trusting in God, our whole lives a divine service. In Jesus, we begin to see that restored in us, as our sins are forgiven in Him. We are given new life in Baptism, once again God’s own children. And as God’s children, we again live lives wholly dedicated to God’s Word and His will. “[God] gives to all life, breath, and all things…He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:25-28).

Today you may celebrate with great joy both our Lord’s obedience on our behalf and His willingness to assume the consequences of our countless “no’s” to the Father. Today you may sing and dance with joy that Yahweh Saves comes into your flesh to grant you both gifts. 

The glory that departed from the temple as the people were sent into exile in Babylon has returned to the person and work of Jesus. We see glimpses of the kind of glory of God in the Scriptures. The glory of God surrounded the herald angel and the heavenly host as they sang, “Glory to God in the highest!” On the mount of Transfiguration, Jesus’ countenance was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. Saul was given to see the resurrected and ascended Jesus in glory on the road to Damascus, so brilliant that he was blinded until healed by Ananias.

But you do have an angel who announces to you good tidings. This messenger proclaims with God-given authority to declare to you the forgiveness of sins, deliverance from death, and freedom from the devil's lies. Your angel messenger tells you where to find Jesus, exactly where He is promised. “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

He comes to save His people from their sins. That’s what His name means, Yahweh saves! Jesus! He came to save Joseph and Mary from their sins. He came to save His whole family from sins, death, and the devil. That includes you, too! By Baptism, you have been joined to Jesus. You were adopted as sons of God, coheirs with Jesus of His kingdom and eternity. That means this messy, mixed-up family that Jesus was born into is now your family, too. And since He came to save them, He came to save you. 

And if there are any such among us, we call them to repentance now because Jesus is coming quickly. He says, “Behold, I am coming quickly!” There is no time to remain in trespasses and sins. Repent, believe the Gospel, and you will be saved. Everything in this Christian church is ordered for repentance unto the forgiveness of sins. That is the only way. If anyone is to be saved, God, by His Word and Spirit, must first devastate whatever stupid ideas, immoral lives, and rebellious beliefs are in His way. And having brought an end to all injustice, filthiness, and idolatry, Jesus promises to keep us in His righteousness, holiness, life, and faith until He comes again.“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Rev 22:12). Christ comes with the reward which He Himself earned, and which He freely gives to all believers by grace. The “reward” itself is the gift of eternal life in God’s holy presence, earned for God’s people by the death and resurrection of the Lamb of God. This “reward” is represented by the tree of life. Good news and a great gift! So the whole church, the bride, cannot help but cry out, “‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev 22:17) And again, Jesus exclaims, “Surely I am coming quickly!” (Rev 22:20).

While Scripture gives you such beautiful glimpses of the age to come, the fullness of its glory is beyond our ability to comprehend now, for “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor 2:9). Still, these things have been revealed to you by the Spirit in the promises of your Baptism, His Gospel, and His Sacrament. God promises, “Behold! I make all things new!” (Rev 21:5). What He promises He does for you and for Bev and all those who wait for His reappearing. 

The third stanza of our hymn “Once He Came in Blessing” tonight focuses on Christ’s coming “soon.” Soon Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. His eminent return is a warning and terror to the wicked whose sin remains unconfessed and trust misplaced. His return soon is a delight to the righteous who live in Jesus’s forgiveness and, with anxious expectation, await His reappearing. For you who live in Christ and grieve this world, sin, and its serpent prince, Jesus’s return cannot come soon enough.

Yes, Isaiah’s prophecy and their hopes are being fulfilled. The great reversal of the sin and its consequence on all flesh is being undone. The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are clean, and the deaf hear. Alleluia! Praise God! But there’s more! The dead are resurrected. Not since Elijah and Elisha have they seen that happen. And maybe this Jesus is beginning to fulfill the prophetic vision of Ezekiel and the resurrection of the slain in the battle valley? Hope beyond hope!

Where is home? Maybe it's with Mom and Dad and siblings? Or with your spouse and children? Perhaps you’ll be wrapped up in a warm blanket in front of the fireplace, with a pet curled up at your feet or in your lap? Home and hearth are gifts from God. They are given to each of us differently but are always a blessing of our generous heavenly Father.

The promises of God fulfilled for Mickie are the only thing that can give lasting relief for today, tomorrow, and forever. Remember Mickie’s confirmation verse: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” The apostle Peter is right! There is no one else who can give the promises needed for this day. So hear again Jesus’s promises for Mickie, and all those who trust in Him. 

Jesus’s warning isn’t just for those distracted by all the Christmas celebration (minus the actual celebration of the Nativity in His church, of course). Feasting and revelry, family and work, can easily distract you from keeping your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. Jesus is warning you against all the distractions of this life, all the times the hustle and bustle of normal life distract you from the one thing needful, Jesus’s Word and its delivery for you in the Sacraments. 

Jesus has kept His promises for Willis. It took a while, but sometimes that is what the LORD does. For Willis, that was 94 years of life, full of blessings but also difficulty and loss. Through it all, Jesus kept repeating His promises. You are forgiven! You are my beloved child! I will never leave you or forsake you! I promise to keep you in the faith! You will be with me in paradise! Resurrection and eternal life are yours, now in hope and then in sight. And Jesus kept His promises for Willis, who now rests in the peace of Jesus awaiting the Last Day, the triumphant cry of the joy of all the faithful raised to life immortal. So, no matter what twists and turns life took over those 94 years, Willis had Jesus with him to comfort and guide Him. No matter what loss and difficulty this life, world, or even the demonic powers might cause him to suffer, Jesus’s Spirit was there to renew and restore Willis to faith and life in Jesus. The gift of Willis’s baptism into Jesus and the breath of the Spirit received there kept and preserved him, day in and day out.

Who is Jesus? What has He come to do? Those are the central questions of this day and season of Advent. If Jesus on the donkey riding into Jerusalem isn’t about that, what good is He? If He is just another prophet, why listen to Him and not the others? If He is just another Maccabean messiah, why follow Him? If He’s just another son of David, a family has lost both their nobility and status, why acknowledge Him with palm branches and exclamation? Everything rides on the anointed one, Jesus saving you from your sins.

Each morning we begin, and each evening we end with a prayer that goes like this, “I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son…” As you pray those words, think of the blessings of body and life God the Father has given you. But also recognize the more fantastic gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation you have in His Son by the Spirit. And then you can say, “O, Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.”