Category: Articles

Rev. Mark Buetow

It’s that time of year again: Advent, the time when Christians around the world complain that the culture is taking over Christmas by putting up decorations after Halloween, while simultaneously crying that the culture hates Christmas because the atheists won’t let us put Nativity scenes up in public parks. So then come the battle cries: “Keep Christ in Christmas!” “Jesus is the Reason for the Season!” “Bah Humbug to saying ‘Happy Holidays!’”

You can have blue or purple for Advent. You can have the tree up or wait until Christmas. You can run the Christmas playlist or wait until December 24. You can have turkey or ham. You can put out a Nativity Scene or not. You can even say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays.” While these things may or may not point to Jesus more or less, you are free in Christ to use them or not. Steady lights or twinkling lights don’t make Christmas any more or less about Jesus.

That’s because, no matter how flashy or plain the decorations and traditions of Christmas might be, or the greetings and displays are–these things don’t make Jesus any more or less in-the-flesh. Those things don’t make Jesus any more or less present. That’s because Jesus didn’t promise to show up where there were twinkling lights and candle-light worship services. He promises to show up where the water and Word are splashed at the font, where He, the Word-made-flesh, is preached, where He Himself shows up under bread and wine on the altar. You could have all the greenery and lights in the world or none at all and Jesus’ promises about where He is and what He comes to give–the forgiveness of sins and true peace with God–are unchanged.

The cool thing about Advent is that the church, no matter what the world is doing, is hearing the Word that prepares us for Jesus to show up. Even if you’re coming from or heading to a noisy Christmas party, that stop at church to hear the Word is a moment out of time. A pause. Out of the hustle and bustle. Away from the people trying to trample each other for the latest sale. For some, the glitter and glitz is fun, an enjoyable part of the holiday season. For others, this time of year brings sadness and even bad memories. But in the church, all of that takes a back seat to the Coming One: The Lord who rides to His death. The Coming King who will appear to take home His Bride. The One whose sandals John is not worthy to untie. The Lamb who appears to take away the sin of the world. The Baby in the manger, born for sinners to give His life for sinners. The Baby who is wrapped in swaddling clothes but will one day be wrapped in burial cloths. The Baby who comes forth from the womb of Mary who will one day come forth triumphant from the grace. The Savior who is Christ the Lord who gives to each of us the new birth of water and the Spirit from above. Indeed, this is the Jesus who has come for the person who’s had one too many spiked eggnogs or the person whose loneliness is darkness in the midst of twinkling lights.

Enjoy the lights and chaos of the Christmas holiday if that’s your thing. Leave things bare and undecorated if you prefer that. Toss a “Merry Christmas” at your atheist friends if you feel so inclined. Shout “Happy Holidays” to those who think it’s their job to wage a war for the right Christmas greeting. But above all, behold the Lamb who comes to take away the sin of the world. The Lamb who has taken away the sin of the world, who has taken away your sin. Hear the proclamation of the angelic host that this Christ child born is your Savior, who brings true peace, the peace of sins forgiven and being right with God forever. Rejoice in the Lord wrapped up for you in the flesh, in the water, in the body and blood and Word. Merry Advent and Happy Christmas because of Jesus.

 

Rev. Gaven Mize

Awake you Christians from your sleep and marvel at your savior who has come to you through water and the word. You who have been grafted into the great vine have not been separated by your slumber, but have been united for all time in your baptism. The branch for your forehead confesses the faith that is so deeply ingrained into your soul. And while this is marvelous and magnificent, those on your right and left stand now awake alongside of you, for the great ushering has begun. The great Advent awaits. The Lord is coming to your aid. And this means that even in death, you live.

One of the most difficult things for a pastor is being by the bedside of a dying member and trying to speak the words of comfort for them. We trust in the words of the Lord and we read to them great passages from scripture. But, most times when words seem to fail, I place a crucifix in their hands and whisper in their ears, “Fear not, soon this night will be over, our Lord is coming for you.” Then the day comes that the pastor and the family lay them in their “final resting place.” Many tears are shed, many memories are shared, and the Gospel is proclaimed. And, of course, the resurrection of Christ and the blessing of Easter is placed before the eyes of the faithful.

Death comes to us all. Dortmund, Germany learned this hard lesson in the winter of 1597. The plague had hit with such a horrible force that it left the small town nearly desolate. At one point, the pastors were digging in the frozen ground to bury thirty saints per day. There didn’t seem to be enough crosses to go around for those who rested from their labors. The amount of people who had fallen asleep in their Lord was simply staggering. So, what is a pastor to do in a situation like this? The simple answer is to do what you did before when saints die: point them to the resurrection of the dead.

This is exactly what Rev. Philip Nicolai did as he was burying all those saints. He took his pen and ink and pressed them to paper and out came a glorious confession of faith! “Wake, awake, for night is flying, The watchmen on the heights are crying; ‘Awake, Jerusalem, arise!’ Midnight hears the welcome voices, And at the thrilling cry rejoices: Come forth, ye virgins, night is past! The Bridegroom comes, awake, Your lamps with gladness take; Hallelujah! And for His marriage-feast prepare, For ye must go to meet Him there.”

The watchmen are at the gate. Their oil is never ending. Their wicks are constantly trimmed. Their anticipation constantly growing for the coming bridegroom. And upon the return of the Christ, all whom the plague did destroy will arise from their cold tombs and will once again call upon the name of the Lord and life will be theirs. That’s the thing about Jesus: Everywhere He goes light and life follow.

As we approach Advent and the anticipation of the Christmas Season, we are never too far away from the final advent-the return of Christ for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. When we celebrate the coming of Christ we do so in the guarantee that our God, the One who was humiliated and became man, would not and will not abandon us in our time of greatest need. When our hour of dying comes and the pastor places a crucifix in our hands, may we have on our lips, “Zion hears the watchmen singing, And all her heart with joy is springing, She wakes, she rises from her gloom; For her Lord comes down all-glorious, The strong in grace, in truth victorious…”

The fact of the matter is that there is always enough cross to go around. There is always enough life to be given, for Christ is the One who gives. So, live. In your baptism rejoice, and live. As your fingers close around the cross, live. Because Christ has come for you. Christ remains the One coming for you. And soon, the ones who have been planted and the ones who walk the earth in faith, will call out, “Ah come, Thou blessed Lord, O Jesus, Son of God, Hallelujah! We follow till the halls we see, Where Thou hast bid us sup with Thee!”

But, for now, let us keep watch as the watchmen of the Lord. Come Lord Jesus, quickly come.

 

by The Rev. William Cwirla

The church year in the West begins with with a preparatory season called “Advent.”  The word “advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning “appearing” or “coming,” referring to the appearing of a great king or even a god.  In Christian usage, it refers to the appearing of Jesus Christ in two ways – His first appearing as the Child born of the Virgin Mary and His second appearing in glory on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead.  You see, Advent isn’t only about getting ready for Christmas; it’s also about getting ready for Jesus’ final appearing in glory only the Last Day.

We live in the last days, between Christ’s first and second appearances.  He is always present with us, and always has been since the beginning.  His presence is made audible and visible to us by the Spirit through the preached Word and the Sacraments.  Only briefly did the Son of God show His face some 2000 years ago.  Only at the end will we see His face again when He appears in glory.  Until then, we watch and wait for His second advent even as we celebrate His first.

 

St. Bernard wrote this concerning the coming of Christ:  “In the first coming, Christ comes in the flesh and in weakness; in the second, He comes in Spirit and power; in the third, He comes in glory and majesty; and the second coming is the means whereby we pass from the first to the third.”

 

The season of Advent has its origins in France and Spain in the 4th and 5th centuries.  As early as 380, the Council of Saragossa urged faithful Christians to attend church every day from December 17 through Epiphany (January 6).  Early calendars in both the East and the West indicated a 40 day period of fasting, beginning on November 14.  The liturgical principle is “fast before feast,” following the pattern of Lent and Easter.  Before a major feast there is a period of fasting – solemn, repentant preparation.  This stands in sharp contrast to our consumerist culture that feasts first and then diets afterward, resolving to “do better” in the new year.  Joyful feasting and disciplined fasting go hand in hand.  

 

Advent has four distinct Sundays themed by the readings from the holy Gospel:  

 

The 1st Sunday in Advent focuses on Christ’s appearing in glory with the image of His triumphal ride into Jerusalem as the messianic King. 

 

The 2nd Sunday brings John the Baptizer’s prophetic voice calling Israel out to the wilderness to “prepare the way of the Lord.” 

 

The 3rd Sunday again focuses on John the Baptizer, this time on the content of his preaching of repentance and his greatness as the forerunner of the Messiah. 

 

The 4th Sunday emphasizes Jesus’ immaculate conception by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary.  During the final week of Advent, it is customary to pray the “O Antiphons” from December 17 to December 23, a series of ancient prayers addressed to Christ in terms of Old Testament prophesy.

 

Advent is a season of quiet anticipation and expectation.  The One who once came in humility by way of Bethlehem’s manger, David’s donkey, and Calvary’s cross, who now comes to us hiddenly in His holy Word and the blessed Sacrament of His body and blood, will soon come visibly in blazing glory to raise the dead and give eternal life to all who call on His Name. The tone of Advent is joyful anticipation, a mixture of holy fear and expectant joy, like that of a mother-to-be awaiting the arrival of her first baby.

 

Advent is a time of sober patience.  Sadly, our instant gratification culture seems to have had more influence on the Church than the Church has had on the surrounding culture.  Advent has been gobbled up by the frenzy of the “winter holidays,” which now begin after Halloween!  By the time Christmas arrives, most are too weary to worship and too burned out from decking the halls to celebrate the birth of the world’s Savior with any degree of joy much less energy.  Remember, Christmas is a twelve day feast, beginning on December 25th.  In celebrating Advent in all its somber, sober watchfulness, we Christians can give a priceless gift to each other and to the world by showing the patient hope we have in Jesus’ coming.

 

The season has its own peculiar customs and traditions.  One cherished tradition is the Advent wreath.  This evergreen wreath with four candles is a tradition from northern Europe.  Each candle stands for one of the four Sundays in Advent.  The closed circle is a symbol of God’s eternality.  Like the circle, our Lord is without beginning and without end.  The evergreen branches represent the eternal life that is ours through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a life that transcends death itself.  Just as the evergreen remains alive and fresh even in the dead of winter, so Jesus fills us with new life even in death.  “I am the Resurrection and the Life.  He who believes in me will live even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die”  (John 11:25-26).  

 

The candles remind us of Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the world, the Light no darkness can overcome.  They also represent all baptized believers in Jesus who reflect His light into the darkness of this world and proclaim Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9-10).  Each successive week in Advent, another candle is lit.  Sometimes smaller candles or little red berries are added to count off the days between Sundays.  At Christmas Eve, the Advent wreath is replaced with a single white Christ candle, signifying the appearing of Christ in the world.  

 

As the candles on the Advent wreath burn ever more brightly with the approach of Christmas, we are reminded of how near is the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.  Good news indeed!  He comes to judge the world in His righteousness, and the verdict will be “innocent” in His atoning death.  Your faith in Him will not be in vain.  He comes to save!

 

Other Advent customs include the Advent calendar with its little doors or pockets each concealing a gift or Scripture verse and counting the days to Christmas, and the “Jesse Tree,” depicting the family tree of Jesus as the promised Branch from the stem of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1).  Advent calendars and Jesse Trees make fun family projects during the season of Advent.

 

The intent of Advent is not to “take the fun” out of Christmas but to restore the joy and celebration to Christmas by having a period of prayerful preparation and to put the holy back into the December “holidays.”  As we celebrate Christ’s first coming by way of the Virgin and the manger, and as we delight in His sacramental coming to us in the Word and Supper, we await His coming in glory at a day and an hour no one knows.

 

 E’en so, Lord Jesus, quickly come

 And night shall be no more

 They need no light, no lamp, nor sun

 For Christ will be their All!

 

Rev. William Cwirla is Pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, CA. Pastor Cwirla serves as President of Higher Things. This is the first in a series of posts on the Season of Advent.

Rev. Tim Radke

He who worked the church could not find a parking place. The parking lot had more cars than he was ever used to seeing. What had he forgotten and why was his usual spot taken? Then, the revelation dawned on him and the proverbial LED light bulb shined brightly through his darkness, “Today is the preschool children’s Christmas program!” The parking lot is full of parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. There was no room for him in the parking lot because people, gobs of them, have come to see their children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews perform the Biblical story of Christmas.

After a long walk, the pastor made his way to the church, having parked in a neighboring business’ parking lot. The agitation of having his normal routine interrupted wore off by the time he reached his office, turned on the lights, and took his seat. Grabbing his coffee mug, he went to fill it and meandered over to the sanctuary, where the story of Christmas was being performed by preschool children. The pastor was shocked to see there was a real baby in the manger, moving about as babies do when over-stimulated by noise, sounds, and lights.

It was time to move beyond the door with a window into the sanctuary. The pastor was taken aback to see the sanctuary fuller than he had ever seen it in three years, though the Christmas reality is told every week. In this very room the people of Christ are advented by Him every week. Christ visits His people and comes to them with His faith saving and faith sustaining gifts, every week. These thoughts were quickly interrupted by the flashes from cameras, phones, and recorders. Everyone in this place had come to see a child, their child. Few were here for the story of salvation the Child, Christ the Lord, came into the world to complete by way of a bloody cross.

Maybe the pastor is a humbug. Maybe he makes big deals of minor deals. Maybe he is cranky for having to walk farther than normal to his office. Maybe the pastor is all of these things and then some. All of these are true of him, for he remains a sinner in need of what the Christ-child in the manger came to deliver him from. This pastor moved past his self-righteousness in a couple of days as the Spirit most certainly convicted him. He was convicted about how rare it is to consider the Child, Christ Jesus, in the manger at Christmas. Convicted that he, like many, have lost the Savior in the manger and filled the manger with everything but the Savior. Christmas for believers and unbelievers, sadly and sinfully, has come to look very much the same. When the infant Son of God is pushed aside, all is lost even and especially among the faithful. “All that is Christmas originates in heaven and comes from there to us all…,” said Maria Von Wedemeyer (Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s fiancée).

In the end, the pastor was advented by the One who had come into the world. Convicted by the Spirit and dead in his sin and made alive in Christ, by the same Spirit. The words of Bonhoeffer rang through his mind as loudly as the church bell that calls the sinful into the divine service of the Savior, “Has our head become too full or serious thoughts to deal with such a child? Can we not forget all our stresses and struggles, our sense of importance, and for once worship the child, as did the shepherds and wise men from the East, bowing before the divine child in the manger like children?” Come Lord Jesus, visit us yet again with the means of grace.

 

As I perused the Advent hymns looking for something to write about this month, this hymn caught my attention. Its plaintive melody is similar to other Advent hymns and evokes a contemplative mood which is appropriate for this Advent season. Advent is often an overlooked season, especially when living in today’s society. With radio stations blasting Christmas music as early as Thanksgiving, and stores full of candy, presents, and festive decorations, it can be hard to remember the plainer season of Advent which draws our attention not only to the wonderful coming of Christ, but also to our fallen, sinful condition which was the reason Christ needed to come in the first place.

The night will soon be ending; the dawn cannot be far. Let songs of praise ascending now greet the Morning Star! All you whom darkness frightens with guilt or grief or pain, God’s radiant Star now brightens and bids you sing again.- LSB 337 v.1

In these days, it is hard to miss the darkness that surrounds this world. The stories of violence, famine, disease, and death that we hear are not new, and they will continue to exist long after we are gone. However, it can be exhausting to look around and see the pain and suffering caused by Sin, Death, and the Devil and through our own sinful thoughts and actions. We cannot find hope or comfort in this world because there is nothing but darkness. However, the prophet Isaiah presents us with a glimmer of hope: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2). This light, as we know, is Christ Jesus who came into our world of darkness with the light of salvation and His Word. Christ’s light pierces the darkness of this world and brings hope and comfort to all who are struggling under the weight of their sin, or who are grieving the consequences of sin.

God dwells with us in darkness and makes the night as day; yet we resist the brightness and turn from God away. But grace does not forsake us, however far we run. God claims us still as children through Mary’s infant son.- LSB 337 v.5

However, even though Christ has come into the world with the light of hope and salvation, we who have walked in darkness for so long often despise the light for the uncomfortable truths it reveals. We do not like being confronted with our sin or the reality that we cannot save ourselves from our sin. We are not comfortable with the truth that we love, serve, and obey things other then God, and would rather spend Sunday morning sleeping, or watching TV rather than sitting in church and receiving God’s gifts. We actively run away from God, sprinting to other idols and hiding ourselves from the light. We are dead, deserving nothing but God’s eternal wrath for all our sins of thought, word, and deed.

But grace does not forsake us. What better comfort do we have than this? What could be better than knowing that when we run, when we fall away, when we doubt, and when we are lost in grief that God’s grace is always present and will always be there to sustain us. God has washed us clean in Baptism and claimed us as His children for all eternity. Not just for the times when we feel like we are doing the right thing or when things are going well for us. No! He is there as well in the times when we do falter. He will hold on to us because we are already His through Christ: the child whose coming we prepare for both at Christmas and at the end of the world.

 

Rev. Mark Buetow

Advent is the season in the church year in which we wait in eager anticipating for the coming of our Lord Jesus. It has a double meaning since we are waiting and looking forward to celebrating His birth at Christmas but also to His coming again in glory on the Last Day. Early on, Advent developed as a season of fasting and preparation, much like Lent. That changed somewhat when churches nudged Advent into a less penitential purple and more “joyously expectant” blue season. (And people still like to debate whether blue is a proper option to use). Did you know that some people wouldn’t sing Christmas music or put up Christmas trees during Advent? After all, there are twelve days of Christmas, and they don’t start until Christmas!

But look around. The world knows nothing of Advent. For the world, the “Holiday Season” begins with Thanksgiving and ends with New Year’s Day. It’s full of feasts and lights and parties and lots of football and Christmas songs made famous by the Baby Boomer generation. And let’s face it, the church can’t really compete. Many churches already have their Christmas trees and lights up. Perhaps your pastor is a stickler for the old traditions and your sanctuary isn’t decorated yet. But even so, while we are waiting in eager expectation, the world is celebrating and it’s hard not to get caught up in all that. So many Christians will use Advent as the time to complain that there isn’t much Advent any more. Many others will just plough ahead with all the festivities and goings on that come with the season. Some people revel in the lights and tinsel. Others hurt in silent pain and loneliness.

So where did Advent go? Well, it didn’t go anywhere. It’s still here. Because Advent isn’t about decorating trees or not. And it’s not about baking cookies or waiting. It’s not about any of that. Advent is about Jesus. And so Advent is right where it should be: in the church, with the blue or the purple indicating it’s a special season and the readings from God’s Word telling us that Jesus is coming. Advent is Advent because we hear of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the donkey, of Christ’s coming in glory, of the preaching of John the Baptist and the announcement of Gabriel to Mary. The clouds of glory, the donkey and palms, the prophet in the Jordan river, the angel Gabriel: they’re all doing the same thing: pointing you to Jesus.

Maybe because there is so much hustle and bustle churches often decide to have additional worship services during Advent. Maybe there is the opportunity to receive Christ’s body and blood or join in the singing of Evening Prayer. Take advantage of those opportunities because they are the times in which we can tune out the world, even for just a little bit, and hear the Good News that Jesus is coming. He has already come, in the flesh, born in a manger, foretold by prophet. He will come again in glory, on the clouds of heaven, like lightning, with trumpets and angels and waking the dead. And between those two “advents” He is coming now, to you, right there in His church. When your pastor preaches that this Jesus came for you. To save you. To go to the cross for you. To die and rise for you. To deliver forgiveness to you. He comes upon the altar with His body and blood. We sing “Hosanna!” as the crowds did, welcoming Him.

So where did Advent go? Nowhere. It’s right where it’s always been, in the church, where the Spirit gathers Christ’s people to hear the Word which brings repentance and faith. In the church where the Word of God is heard, sinners are drawn out of the world which parties for no purpose and into the faith and joy and comfort and hope that Jesus brings by His saving gifts. And then, filled with that joy and peace, we go forth to enjoy the things of this world and life, parties and cookies and Christmas carols if you like, as the baptized children of God. And as we live we wait, we expect, and we rejoice that Jesus comes to us. Happy Advent!