Today, by this preaching of Christ Jesus into your ears, all the promises of God are fulfilled and realized for you, as He thereby breathes His Spirit upon you and gives you His own Life.
For Jesus is the Christ, the Lord’s Anointed, and it is precisely for such preaching that His Father has poured out the Spirit upon Him. Not as an alternative to the Cross, but His preaching and His Cross are of one piece. He preaches what He received in His Baptism, that is, repentance and the forgiveness of sins, both of which are completed in His Cross and Passion. And His preaching also moves to and from the Cross — for Him and His hearers, for His disciples, and so also for you.
He is anointed by the Spirit of the Lord to be the true King of Israel and, as such, to be the Savior of His people. He saves the people for Life with Himself in His Kingdom, by rescuing them from the devil’s kingdom, releasing them from the burden of sin and the curse of death; and He reigns over them in Peace and Love by the Spirit of His God and Father, by the Ministry of His Gospel.
What He has fulfilled in Himself, in His own Body crucified and risen, He now bestows upon you by the preaching of His Word. From His lungs, across His golden tongue, and proceeding out of His mouth, grace flows off His lips into your ears. That is how He saves you from your sins, releases you from the curse of death, and delivers you from the tyranny of the devil.
He is anointed for the Cross and Resurrection — and you, also, have been baptized into the same Cross and Resurrection of the same Lord Jesus Christ. But so has He been called, ordained, and sent by His Father to preach this Gospel. He is such a Preacher, first of all; for He is the Word-made-Flesh, the Preaching of God the Father, by whom all things are created and sustained.
Do not despise this preaching of God’s Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. For it continues to this day and to this place, according to the Will and Wisdom of God. As the Father has sent His Son in the Flesh, Christ Jesus, so has the Lord Jesus ever called, ordained, and sent the servants of His Word to preach and administer the Gospel in His Name and stead. And the Spirit of the Lord is still actively present and at work in this Ministry of His Word. Accordingly, from these lips, sanctified by the Spirit with the Gospel that He places upon them, Christ Jesus preaches Himself into your ears, and through your ears into your heart and mind, body and soul.
That is what the Liturgy confesses and affirms several times over by way of the Salutation — that the Lord is with you in this preacher, in my words and my work as your pastor, because the Spirit of the Lord is upon me to preach. That is to read, interpret, and proclaim the Holy Scriptures, as the priests and Levites did in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra, when the Lord brought His people back out of Babylonian captivity into the Land of Promise. But now it is the preaching of the Promise fulfilled in Christ Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, crucified and risen from the dead. And as such, that Promise is fulfilled for you, right here, right now, with this preaching in your ears.
Such preaching always leads to and from Holy Baptism, as you have recently heard in the case of St. John the Baptist, and as you’ll hear again from St. Peter and the other Apostles on the Day of Pentecost and beyond. Indeed, there is no Christian Baptism apart from the preaching of Christ.
So, too, this preaching of Christ Jesus necessarily belongs to the right administration of His Holy Supper, that it might be given and received in His Name, in faith and with thanksgiving. So, then, as often as we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, His Cross and Resurrection are to be preached.
Such preaching is for repentance and forgiveness of sins. It is not simply news and information, but Absolution. By this Word you are forgiven. This preaching sets you free from your captivity to sin and death. It releases you from the accusation of the Law and from the devil’s oppression, because it delivers to you the Atonement of Christ the Crucified. It justifies you and reconciles you to God with His Resurrection from the dead. It grants you the true sight of faith by the Spirit of Christ Jesus, because it bestows the Peace of the Lord upon you through His gracious favor.
This is your freedom, that Christ Jesus your Savior forgives you all your sins by this preaching of His Word into your ears. And because your sins are thus forgiven, His preaching also promises the Resurrection of your body and the Life everlasting of both your body and soul. That is not an empty hope, nor some “pie in the sky, by and by,” but this Word, which releases you from guilt and shame and sets you free from sin and death, shall also raise your body up in glory at the last, and so forevermore, as surely as Christ Jesus is risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity.
What you hear with your ears, right here, right now, is what you truly receive. It is yours.
But what is it that you’re looking for, so expectantly, with your eyes? What do you long to see? The Lord speaks such lovely words to you, and He offers such a gracious and glorious hope. Yet, so far as you can tell, everything continues much as it has before, or else it seems to go from bad to worse. The way the Lord comes to you and deals with you is familiar and friendly enough. But are you content and satisfied with all these words that you have heard so many times before?
You also have heard of the miracles, signs, and wonders that Jesus of Nazareth has done for other people in other places: How He healed the sick and raised the dead, cast out demons, opened blind eyes and deaf ears, quieted the winds and waves, and provided more than enough food for many thousands of men, women, and children. If you, then, have found favor in His sight, does He offer you nothing more than wondrous words and pretty promises? He made water into wine for the wedding in Cana, but where are His miracles for your marriage or His favors for your family?
Have a care, now, that you do not reject the Preacher and His preaching. In demanding something you can see with your eyes, you risk losing what is being given into your ears here and now. There is nothing lacking in this Word of the Gospel of Christ Jesus. But if you harden your heart to it and refuse to receive it, He and His preaching shall pass through your midst and be on His way. And then you shall suffer such a drought and famine of His Word, that you shall hunger and thirst for His preaching, but there will be neither a crumb nor a drop remaining for you.
On the surface of it, so far as you can see, the way He goes confirms your doubts and fears and skepticism. For His rejection escalates into His arrest, condemnation, and crucifixion. He’s put to death as a criminal, and most of His friends desert Him. Though He promises to save others, He does not save Himself from suffering and death. He walks into it and willingly submits to it.
The Cross is where His preaching leads. And is that what you want for yourself and your children?
It is for such preaching — to and from the Cross — that Jesus is anointed by the Spirit and sent by the Father. His preaching not only points to the Cross, but draws its power from the Cross. He is not overcome by sin and death, but at the right time His Father hands Him over to the Cross, and He lays down His life voluntarily in order to atone for sin and conquer death. His holy Bloodshed is the true wealth of the Gospel, which is distributed by the preaching of His Cross and Passion.
So, now, recognize your real poverty, your real need, and repent of your sins, so that you do not perish in your unbelief and idolatry. Whatever else you may have or not have in this body and life on earth, your most serious sickness is your native sinfulness, which deafens your ears and warps your sight, so that you don’t even know what’s true or false, and you cannot discern what is real.
Do not trust your own intelligence or instincts, nor your own experience and feelings, but hear and heed the Gospel. Hunger and thirst for the righteousness that Christ Jesus offers and gives to you by His Word. For right here, right now, He speaks and delivers what you need: the forgiveness of all your sins and reconciliation with His God and Father by His Cross and Resurrection.
Do not despair over what you have been and what you have done in the past, and do not doubt that this Gospel is for you. For today, in your ears, the Lord Jesus Christ is preaching to you. He has not slipped away and left you behind. No, despite all your sins and failings, He has not removed His Word from you, nor has He withdrawn His Holy Spirit from you. He has not abandoned this house, nor departed from this congregation. As His custom has been for these past ninety-nine years, He is still coming here and preaching His Gospel and giving His good Gifts in this place.
While it is still day, then — while it is still “Today” — before it is too late, hear His Word of grace. Listen with your ears, and ponder what He preaches in your heart and mind. Trust His Word. It is Truth. Receive and rest in His favor. For in Christ Jesus it is the acceptable Year of the Lord, that is, the Year of Jubilee, in which you are released from captivity and brought home.
Your true and lasting Home is with the Lord your God, in both your body and your soul. Even here and now — though you look for the resurrection of your body, for the new heavens and new earth, the home where righteousness dwells — even here and now you are at home with the Lord wherever He is found: in the preaching of His Gospel, in the remembrance of your Baptism, and in His Body and His Blood. For you belong to the Lord, not as a slave, but as a beloved brother or sister. He is your Kinsman in the flesh, conceived and born of St. Mary, and now also by His grace and Redemption. He has called you and received you to Himself, and He has accepted you as His own, by the Gospel. His Father is your Father. His Land is your Land, now and forever.
Neither by genealogy nor geography, but by His Holy Baptism of water with His Word and Spirit, you belong to His one Body. His wisdom and His strength are yours, and you are glorified in Him; for He covers your nakedness, your humility, and your shame, with His own honor and glory.
The same is true of your Christian neighbor, your brother or sister in Christ Jesus. He cares for him or her as a beloved member of His Body, as He also cares for you. Which means, too, that as you love and serve your neighbor in Christ, you are caring for a fellow member of the same Body.
It is in such loving care for one another that you see the gracious works of the Lord, already in anticipation of the Resurrection of the body. For your own mortal body of flesh and blood — and your Christian neighbor’s body, baptized into Christ — shall be raised from death and the grave and glorified forever, like unto the crucified and risen Body of Christ Jesus, to which you belong.
As you suffer with and for Christ Jesus here, and as you bear His Cross in love for your neighbor, so shall you be glorified with Christ, in body and soul, hereafter in eternity. For already you are cleansed and sanctified by His Word and Spirit, unto the Life everlasting. And in your Baptism your body has also been anointed — your ears to hear His Word and the preaching of it, and your lips and mouth to eat and drink His Body and Blood and to speak what you have heard, to say the same thing that God has spoken to you by His Son: To confess the Lord Jesus Christ, to call upon Him for mercy, and to praise and give thanks to His Holy Name at all times and in all places.
Do not mourn or weep, but rejoice in the Lord. For He, indeed, rejoices over you in holy Love. As He forgives you all your sins and declares you to be holy and righteous in His sight, so does He delight in you with great joy. And His great joy in you is your strength and your song in Him.
This Day — Today — is holy to Him, to the Lord your God; for it is sanctified by Christ Jesus, both by His Resurrection from the dead and by His preaching of the Gospel to you here and now.
At His Holy Word, then, eat of the Fat Portions with which He feeds you, and drink of the Sweet Wine which He pours out for you and for the many, for the forgiveness of all your sins. Have you not heard? He sends and distributes these sacred Portions to you, though you had nothing and were not prepared, because He has prepared this great Feast for you, for His Name’s sake.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness by hearing His Word and receiving His Gifts. The Word that He preaches is true, and the Gifts that He gives you are good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, and Christ be praised! For in Him, in His Body, you are lifted up to God in Peace.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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