In this unassuming ancient village, where the Bread of Life first drew breath, you find your breath in the breaking of this bread — Jesus, the Christ, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the source and sustenance of your life.

The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up; The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And the end of his talk is raving madness. A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be; Who can tell him what will be after him?

So, John is a bridge between the old and the new. He’s there to announce that the old growth is being cut down. It has to go. It has to be cleared away so the ground can be prepared for this seed coming from above, the seed that will sprout and grow into a tree, and its fruit will feed all of God’s people. And who are God’s people? All the people baptized in the Name of the Tree, Jesus. He’s the Seed from above. He’s the shoot that grows out of Jesse's dead stump. He’s the tree of life that stands in this holy orchard of God’s planting.

The outsiders—shepherds, Magi, Mary, and Joseph—gather around the babe, who cradles all creation in His hands. In the simplicity of this scene, we find a cosmic reversal, where the high stoops low and the low is lifted high. The nativity story, a tale of outsiders invited into the heart of salvation, is spoken of throughout history because it is a divine declaration of love for those the world overlooks and judges unimportant.

These Old Testament images, like the joining of the ass and the ox in the depiction of the Nativity, are symbolic of the joining of extremes, the union of the spiritual and physical, the clean and unclean, the inside and outside, and ultimately, the uncreated and created in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Who did you come here to see? What do you expect to receive here today? What did you think was going to happen? Because your expectations are mistaken, you’re never satisfied. Until you get this straightened out, you’ll never be content—not with John the Baptist, not with Jesus the Christ, not with His Holy Church, and not with the gifts He freely gives for peace, joy, and hope.

13 This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me: 14 There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it. 15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man.

In each wreath, you see a symbol and a picture of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Light of the world. It’s a reminder that with and through him, hope is a perpetual flame, illuminating the path you tread from birth to death to new life. It’s a recalling of God’s ancient promises from the past that are received by you today to shine the light of hope on your future, a future that, like the past and present, is dominated by the love that God has for you in Jesus Christ. 

The Christmas tree is a sign for people today that darkness and death do not get the last word. That is reserved for Jesus, the Light of the World — the light no darkness can overcome. And he has descended to live amongst you and gift you with his life so that you too may live in the hope of Christmas — the time when Jesus wipes away every tear from your eyes, and death is no more, and neither is there any need for mourning, or crying, or pain anymore, because those things, which are leftovers of the old world of sin and death, have been chased away by Jesus, your light and your life.

9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.

10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

This is where the Church, wherever she lives, learns about who her Lord is and about whom she waits for despite all disappointment. And she can wait for Him because He is with her. That is the mystery of the expectation of the Church. She can wait because she is with Him, hidden under the means of grace, in the Lord’s Supper. That is the mystery of the coming of Christ.

The only way we can enjoy the temporal gifts is to receive them because of the eternal gifts. As the Spirit inspired St. James, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” And who came down from the Father but Jesus? Without Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross of Calvary, you would not know that God loves you and cares for you. Without Jesus, you would not know God to be your Father and believe you are His beloved children. Without Jesus, you’d live a life seesawing between faith and doubt, contentment and hunger, despair and hope.

It will take a blessed miracle to restore any trust in the Son of Man and Son of God, Jesus. It will take you daily dying to sin and rising to new life in Jesus. It will take you hearing Jesus’s Word over and over as He burns, melts, and purifies your sinful heart. It will take you receiving Jesus’s flesh and blood to satisfy that hunger nothing and no one else has satisfied. All the mistaken notions, false assumptions, foolishness, are cut away and burned by Jesus, every day overcome and undermined by Jesus’ forgiveness of your sins.

But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

Amid the promise of doom and gloom against the temple… amid the coming judgment and a church in chaos, Jesus gives you His Gospel promise: “But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short!” That’s you! For the sake of you and your salvation, the tribulation will be short. Can any great signs or wonders lead you away from Jesus? Is it possible to deceive those who have Holy Spirit given faith? Possible, no impossible! You are God’s child. You are forgiven. You are with Jesus. Nothing they say or do can change that.

10 Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity. 11 Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

God's Word, the One who created us with a word, is the One that bears our burdens. He is the Truth that unmasks the lies for us. He is the permanent Life that undoes our temporary death. He is Jesus Christ, our God and Savior today and always. Nothing can defeat us, not our sin, this evil world, or its god, Satan, because he has defeated them all for us in his death and resurrection.

Even if these are the last days and we are enslaved under a murderous, authoritarian government, God is at work in the state to fulfill His purposes. No matter who “wins” the upcoming elections, what happens with our country or world, or what prosperity or poverty comes our way, your Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. He promises to keep you in the faith unto life everlasting. He promises you a peace that surpasses understanding. Here in His kingdom, He forgives you all your sins. Jesus reigns for you, even while the wars are waged and the world rages.

I say, “Keep the king’s commandment for the sake of your oath to God. ³ Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.” (Ec 8:2–3).

Forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus is the heart of the church. And forgiveness of each other is the heart of the Christian life. This is why Jesus would have you pray multiple times daily, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Apart from Christ’s forgiveness, you would face the threat of judgment, hell, and eternal torment. But in Christ, you are released from the slavery and everlasting punishment you deserve and forgiven all the debt owed to God for your sin. By Christ’s design, He has given you, His church, to live in this forgiveness—proclaimed from the pulpit, put upon your head in Absolution, wrapped around you in Baptism, and given to you to eat in the Sacrament.