Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Old Testament, which was read earlier.<\/p>\n
What shakes up your world? What makes you uneasy and anxious? Is it an unstable stock market? Is it world events or natural disasters? What about a warning or report from your doctor? Each of us is no doubt shaken in different ways by different developments in our lives. For some, it\u2019s the loss of a loved one at Christmas. It might be the possibility of losing ones job or mountains of debt that you never think you\u2019ll get out from underneath. Whatever your anxieties, Jeremiah would understanding your condition. He was shaken by a number of things in his world.<\/p>\n
First, God had called him to be a prophet and to speak God\u2019s Word in a time when people refused and resented God\u2019s messengers. (Not much has changed today with regards to that sentiment by the world). At least twice there were attempts on his life. The refusal and violent reactions to his messages caused him great anguish. Jeremiah shares his frustration as he prays to God: \u201cO LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, \u201cViolence and destruction!\u201d For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. If I say, \u201cI will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,\u201d there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.\u201d<\/em> <\/span>Everything around Jeremiah was falling apart. The Babylonians were about to conquer Jerusalem and enslave its population. Jeremiah was at a crossroads: he was called to announce that this would all happen because the people had so completely rejected the God who had given them the land, the temple, Zion, and Jerusalem.<\/p>\n Regardless of all that was going on in Jeremiah\u2019s life, no matter the fear of what tomorrow would bring, Jeremiah has words for God\u2019s people: \u201cBehold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: \u2018The LORD is our righteousness.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Here is a calming and healing word for God\u2019s people. Here is a restoring and refreshing word for a people a people who had rejected God. This is a reiteration of the promise made to Adam and Eve. This is the promise of a Savior. This is the promise of Jesus. Jeremiah describes the coming of one who would reverse the curse of the people\u2019s rejection of their faith and their idolatrous ways. The Jerusalem that would experience violence, bloodshed, anguish, and enslavement would once again dwell in security and enjoy wonderful prosperity. God\u2019s blessings would be lavished upon her once again.<\/p>\n This great reversal would be brought about by the presence of the one who would bring justice and righteousness. David\u2019s seed, Jesus of Nazareth, fulfills this wonderful word precisely as Jeremiah promised.<\/p>\n And so we see in our Gospel reading the same account as we do for Palm Sunday \u2013 the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. And what do the people shout: \u201cBlessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!\u201d<\/em> <\/span>That is what we proclaim today, preparing for the arrival of the infant Jesus in the manger. Listen to what Luther writes when speaking of Christ\u2019s triumphant entry: \u201cThis is what is meant by \u2018Thy king cometh.\u2019 You do not seek him, but he seeks you. You do not find him, he finds you. For preachers come from him, not from you; their sermons come from him, not from you; your faith comes from him, not from you; and where he does not come, you remain outside; and where there is no Gospel there is no God, but only sin and damnation, free will may do, suffer, work, and live as it may and can. Therefore you should not ask, where to begin to be godly; there is no beginning, except where the king enters and is proclaimed.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n You see, everything centers on the coming of Christ into our sinful and fallen world. You want to be sinless? You can\u2019t. You want to be righteous? You can\u2019t. You want to save yourself? You can\u2019t. You want to be godly, as Luther says? You can\u2019t. But with the coming of Christ, you are made sinless. With the coming of Christ you are declared righteous. With the coming of Christ, you have been saved. Everything centers on Christ and what He does.<\/p>\n Here in this House, the Branch of Righteousness also springs forth today.\u00a0He comes to speak salvation from Satan and death.\u00a0He comes to give out His righteousness through His mighty Word. All mankind needs this coming of the Branch.\u00a0All men are sinful, and therefore need this Savior to come into their midst to give out His forgiveness.\u00a0But many have given up hope.\u00a0Many have stopped believing in the coming of Messiah among men through Word and Sacrament.\u00a0Many think that Christ is far distant in heaven, and does not come among men. We forget that He is here, the King of the universe, the Son of David, in our midst.\u00a0Our spirits are slow and cold too often, as if He does not come.<\/p>\n But He comes here indeed, since He has prophesied and promised it. He has said He would be here, and He does not break His promises, made some two thousand years ago.\u00a0Here He is in His Body and Blood.\u00a0Here He is speaking, since He who hears His servants is hearing Him.\u00a0Here He is in the midst of us, where two or three gather together.\u00a0He shall come in this way to be with us always, until the very end of the age.\u00a0Although our sinful souls are not worthy of His coming, He comes anyway, to give us grace.<\/p>\n Jeremiah spoke that message to his contemporaries. He faithfully spoke God\u2019s Holy Word. The majority rejected his message, but a significant minority listened and believed. They saw reality for what it was. They saw the beauty and wonder of the God who made a promise and reinforced that promise. They confessed their sins and rejoice in God\u2019s forgiveness for the sake of David\u2019s Seed, Jesus.<\/p>\n So today we rejoice with Jeremiah. Beyond the disappointment and challenges of this world, the Seed of David brings a peace that the world cannot replicate, for this peace is the peace that knows on account of Christ, our sins have been forgiven and we have life everlasting in the promised Messiah. In Jesus\u2019 name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Old Testament, which was read earlier. What shakes up your world? What makes you uneasy and anxious? Is it an unstable stock market? Is it world events or natural […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17942,9016],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advent","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3065"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3066,"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3065\/revisions\/3066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}