Rejoice!

Pastor Steve Stolarczyk

LSB Lectionary, Series A, Advent 3 • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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English Standard Version Chapter 11

“What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,

“ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

Text: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (Lutheran Service Book #357)

Text:

English Standard Version Chapter 11

“ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

You’d think it would be easy to find a good recording of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” It’s not. I tried it this past week. We’ve got Apple Music, so you can listen to literally millions of songs. When I searched for “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” dozens and dozens of versions came up recorded by as many singers and groups, some secular but mostly Christian artists. I listened to most of them. They were all very skilled singers, very gifted musicians. Some of the arrangements were quite powerful, with choirs and full orchestras building to incredible crescendos. In spite of all of that, I only found maybe two that were really good. The problem wasn’t the singing or the instruments or the musicians. It was the stanzas they chose to include and the ones they chose to leave out.

The problem wasn’t the singing or the

I get that they might not be comfortable recording a version with all 7 stanzas. It’s disappointing, but I can live with it if I have to. I can overlook the fact that they only wanted to do 3. It’s the ones they picked to sing and the ones they left out that made nearly all of them bad recordings. Every recording included the first stanza, of course, which is good: “O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear.” A lot of them included the second verse, too: “O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, Who ord'rest all things mightily; to us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go.” A surprising number included stanza 3: “O come, O come, Thou Lord of might, Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height In ancient times didst give the Law In cloud and majesty and awe.” And, of course, stanza 7 was popular: “O come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind; Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, And be Thyself our King of Peace.”

2 O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, Who ord'rest all things mightily; to us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go.

A surprising number included stanza 3: “O come, O come, Thou Lord of might, Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height In ancient times didst give the Law In cloud and majesty and awe.

the ones they picked to sing and the ones they left out that made nearly all of them bad recordings.

That’s all quite nice. I don’t want to beat it down. But is it cause to “Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel”— the fact that He will bid us to cease our divisions or that he’ll teach us a better way to go? Is that cause for rejoicing?

The one really good version that I found is the one that included stanza 4: “O come, Thou Branch of Jesse's tree, Free them from Satan's tyranny That trust Thy mighty pow'r to save, And give them vict'ry o'er the grave.” That is cause to rejoice. That is what Christmas is all about. As another pastor put it a few days ago:

“If neither sin, Satan nor suffering are in your Christmas carol, it isn’t a Christmas carol.” (Hess, Joel. Twitter, 12/14/19, 10:05 p.m.)

Now, you’re not here for my music reviews. Why am I talking about all this? Today’s theme is “Rejoice.” This third Sunday in Advent is about “Joy.” That’s why the pink candle is lit today. The others are purple, reflecting the fact that Advent is a time of preparation. And one of the most important ways that we prepare is through repentance. The purple reflects that penitent tone that Advent has— or, at least, that it should have if we ever held off on Christmas long enough. But this Sunday that penitential mood is lightened a bit, so the candle is pink— sort of “half way” between purple and white. Today is about Joy.

Today’s theme is “Rejoice.” This third Sunday in Advent is about “Joy.” That’s why the pink candle is lit. The others are purple, reflecting the fact that Advent is a time of preparation. And one of the most important ways that we prepare is through repentance. The purple reflects that penitent tone that Advent has— or, at least, that it should have if we held off on Christmas long enough. But this Sunday that penitential mood is lightened a bit, so the candle is pink— sort of “half way” between purple and white. Today is about Joy.

And, to highlight that theme of ‘Joy’, where in scripture do we turn? We turn, in our Gospel reading… to John the Baptist…. Not necessarily the most ‘joyful’ character.

John, himself, isn’t particularly joyful. In fact, he seems to be expressing genuine doubts because Jesus isn’t doing what he expected.

And he’s... in prison….

And John, himself, doesn’t seem particularly joyful, even by his own standard. In fact, he seems to be expressing genuine doubts because Jesus isn’t doing what he expected and bringing judgment upon the wicked. Jesus is out preaching and carrying on His ministry while John is stuck in prison for daring to point out to Herod that it was contrary to God’s law for him to have his brother’s wife.

Where is the joy here?

In some respects it’s easier to say what it isn’t. This joy isn’t in being delivered from any suffering; from being completely vindicated as you faithfully declare the Word of God that is foolishness— and even offensive— to the world. To put it in terms of our lives now, this joy isn’t the secret to having all your Christmas shopping done and your house perfectly decorated. It’s not principles for perfect children or peace in your family. It’s not what we’d expect. And so John asks for a sign.

To put it in terms of our lives now, this joy isn’t the secret to having all your Christmas shopping done and your house perfectly decorated. It’s not principles for perfect children or peace in your family.

How does Jesus answer John? By pointing him to , which was our Old Testament reading.

The message to John and the message to you and me is, “Yes, it’s begun. The Kingdom of Heaven is coming to you. God, Himself, is with you.”

The message is: It’s begun. The desert is blooming. Creation is singing with joy because it is seeing the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God ().

The message is:

“Rejoice!” Again I say, “Rejoice!” for unto us is born a Savior of the world.

“Take heart, O weary soul, take heart. For help is on its way and holy is His name.”

“Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!” (“O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” Matt Maher)

He is the Way. All whom He has ransomed will return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain gladness and joy,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

He is Emmanuel, who has ransomed captive Israel— who has ransomed you— at the price of His own life, even as you remain here in exile until the day He appears on the Last Day.

[3] Strengthen the weak hands,

[1] The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;

the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;

[2] it shall blossom abundantly

and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the LORD,

the majesty of our God.

[3] Strengthen the weak hands,

and make firm the feeble knees.

[4] Say to those who have an anxious heart,

“Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God

will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you.”

[5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

[6] then shall the lame man leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

For waters break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

[7] the burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water;

in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,

the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

[8] And a highway shall be there,

and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;

the unclean shall not pass over it.

It shall belong to those who walk on the way;

even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.

[9] No lion shall be there,

nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

they shall not be found there,

but the redeemed shall walk there.

[10] And the ransomed of the LORD shall return

and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain gladness and joy,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (ESV)

English Standard Version Chapter 35

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;

the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;

2 it shall blossom abundantly

and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the LORD,

the majesty of our God.

3 Strengthen the weak hands,

and make firm the feeble knees.

4 Say to those who have an anxious heart,

“Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God

will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you.”

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

For waters break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

7 the burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water;

in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,

the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

8 And a highway shall be there,

and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;

the unclean shall not pass over it.

It shall belong to those who walk on the way;

even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.

9 No lion shall be there,

nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

they shall not be found there,

but the redeemed shall walk there.

10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return

and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain gladness and joy,

and sorrow and sighing

Last week we considered why John the Baptizer is not the comforter that we would have chosen, but is most certainly the comforter that we need. This week we see something very similar. It’s not John’s fault. He didn’t “ask” for it. But it’s there.

Our theme today is “Rejoice.” It’s a day about “Joy.” That’s why the pink candle is lit. The others are purple, reflecting the fact that Advent is a time of preparation. And one of the most important ways that we prepare is through repentance. The purple reflects the penitent tone that Advent has— or, at least, that it should have if we held off on Christmas long enough to observe Advent. This Sunday, though, is about Joy.

And, to highlight that theme of ‘Joy’, where in scripture do we turn? We turn to… John the Baptist… in prison….

He is the Desire of Nations who binds in one the hearts of all mankind, who bids our sad divisions cease and will be, Himself, your King of Peace.

John, himself, isn’t particularly joyful. In fact, he seems to be expressing genuine doubts because Jesus isn’t doing what he expected.

He is the Branch of Jesse’s Tree who has delivered you from Satan’s tyranny and gives you victory even over the grave.

I know that you’re not here for my music reviews. But may I suggest that if the Christmas music you’re listening to is focused on how quiet it was on the night Christ was born or on the animals that were there or how cold it was, then that’s not really Christmas music— or, good Christmas music, at least. For the record, we don’t know that it was particularly quiet or cold on that night. There aren’t any animals mentioned in the Christmas story. Good Christmas music, for example, celebrates the fact that, for 9 months, the Son of God was enthroned in the womb of the Virgin Mary until the day when He was born— when, as the song says, He stepped forth from that pure and kingly hall. It celebrates the fact that, as Mary kissed her little baby, she kissed the face of God; that Mary’s child would soon deliver you and me; that He had come to make all things, to make you, new.

The Child whose birth we’re preparing to celebrate isn’t a teacher, come to show you a better way. He is your Savior. He has redeemed you, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won you from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. Not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. He hasn’t just shown you the way to a better place, He is the way and the truth and the life. And, day by day, He is shepherding you to His kingdom.

“If neither sin, Satan nor suffering are in your Christmas carol, it isn’t a Christmas carol.” (Hess, Joel. Twitter, 12/14/19, 10:05 p.m.)

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