Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Creston & Mt Ayr, Iowa;
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4:7–16, ESV)
Grace and peace to you from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
It seems easy to love tonight. The baby in the manger and Mary and Joseph and the angels and shepherds all looking on. Even people outside of the church have love in their hearts tonight. And there's no question about it,
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
Christmas is about love. The gift giving, family gatherings, the crowded stores, the red kettles, it's all around us. The whole world glows with love at Christmas. But it won't be very long before you hear the refrain, "Keep Christmas in your heart all of the year." And it's a good idea, but it doesn't seem to follow through. After the news reports about all the wonderful things people are doing, soon the paper will be filled with disaster, murder, theft, war, and cruelty. The love of Christmas will be put on the shelf for next year. The magic of Christmas fades away into the reality of what it means to be human. Sin abides. Death abides.
The reality of human beings is exactly what the catechism is talking about. The reality of human beings is exactly the reason why Holy Baptism is so important.
Holy Baptism - Fourth
What does such baptizing with water indicate?
It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
Our old sinful nature has its way. We so easily fall under its control. The sins of our heart and are evil desires crop up and cause trouble, and pain, and sorrow, and even death. It is exactly the opposite of love. Exactly the opposite of what we celebrate at Christmas time.
And you could point outside of yourself to your neighbors who don't keep Christmas all the year, but the problem is closer to home. If God is love, and you fail to show love, then you do not belong to God. If you do not belong to God your eternal destiny is not with him, but instead you are separated from him in eternal punishment.
And how good does your love have to be? You can answer that question by simply thinking about what your lack of love does. When you fail to show love at any time does it have consequences? The answer is yes. You have relationships that are broken. You have enemies. You have family members that you can't tolerate. Your workplace is full of rumors and conflict. In order for love to have its complete effect in the world love must be always perfect. After all, God's love is perfect and your should be as well. Anything less than perfect love has a butterfly effect of trouble, and pain, and sorrow, and even death.
But it's Christmas. Love is in the air. And so it should be. Because God is love. And love was born in a manger. That squirming little baby is more than a symbol of love. He is true love.
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
And that life that St. Paul is talking about in this text is a life of love. It comes because God has assured us that we are part of him. He has taken care of our sin. The baby in the manger, Jesus Christ, is the answer to the world's sin, the worlds lack of love. The manger is the beginning. The cross is the point. The resurrection is the proof. Jesus Christ, true God, and true man, born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, suffered and was buried, dead. The love of God is shown to the world by his bearing the punishment for our sin. It is God's act of true love to sacrifice himself on the cross for the sins of the whole world. That's your sin. That's my sin. That's you lack of perfect love and mine. Taken to the cross and killed with Jesus. So every time we struggle to do the right thing. Every time we fall short of God's perfect expectation. Every time we out right do what we know we should not do. The forgiveness of the cross is there. Christians are not perfect. They are like everyone else, we struggle with sin every day. But repentance is faith that Jesus death on the cross has done something about our sin. Repentance is living in the knowledge that when we take our sin to the cross, we know Jesus was crucified for it, and we find forgiveness there.
And there is also the resurrection. Jesus dead three days raises to new life. Sin is done away with. It is left in the grave. The resurrection is God's stamp of approval on what Jesus did. But it is also a promise that we can live in a way that shows God's love. We can live a new life. Again, this is why Holy Baptism is so important. Not only is it a drowning of our sinful nature, but it's a connection to our new life.
Where is this written?
St. Paul writes in Romans, chapter six: "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." (Romans 6:4)
If we are connected to Jesus in such a way, if he has raised us from our death in sin, how can we not show that love to everyone around us.
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
That's the new life. That is love. To proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ born in a manger, dead on the cross, and resurrected to new life. And through our connection to Jesus through faith and Holy Baptism we have God's love. And if it is God's love it is perfect love. And if it is perfect love it flows out not because we do it so well, but because it is God's.
That's the new life we have to live. That's the love we have to give. Why the manger is so important. Because the manger is the beginning of real love come into the world.
So, Christmas is the perfect time to show our love. Through gifts given, family time shared, and care for those who are in great need. It's the easiest time of year to connect what we do to the one who gave us love first. Because the cliché is true, Jesus is indeed reason for the season. The joy of the season is the baby born, but even more importantly the baby grown-up and crucified.
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment