TITLE: “He Will Speak Peace”

 

In the name of the Father and of the † Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.  Our text for tonight is Psalm 85, with focus on the words, Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land. 

We’ve heard who God sent to save us, we’ve heard why God wanted to save us, and this week we hear how God came to save us.  God sent His only begotten Son to earth to save us.  He came to save us because of God’s great love and mercy toward us.  And He came as one of us.  He came as a human being.

It is said that there are two great mysteries in the Christian faith.  How could the Son of God die is one, and the other is how could God become man.  Every time I ponder that, it is too much to grasp.  God became man.  God came down to earth as a little child, to live our life for us.

Occasionally you will hear the saying that ignorance is bliss.  When you know you are going to be facing a great temptation or trial, or some kind of physical pain, if you’re like me, you don’t want to know about it ahead of time.  My imagination can cause much more damage than real hurt that I might suffer.  So for me, when it comes to trials, I would rather not know.  That way I won’t work myself into a frenzy ahead of time.

Now I’m sure that there are some of you here tonight who have gone through some suffering in your lifetime.  It may be physical, emotional, personal suffering.  We’ve all had times and places in our lives that we’d just as soon not remember too often.  There have been times when we cry out with the Psalmist: Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease.  God’s Law hits us pretty hard sometimes, and we don’t want to bear that pain.  Like waking up with a light shining in your eyes, it’s a shock, and you don’t want to see or know these things about yourself.

Now imagine for just a moment if you could know everything that would happen in your life to you ahead of time.  Imagine if you could look at your life as a big tapestry on the wall, where you could see every twist and turn, every joy and heartache, and you could even see and feel the pain of your own death.

If you can imagine that for a moment, you have just a little glimpse into what Jesus went through in His life for us here on earth.  He was the King and Lord of Creation, but He became like one of the weakest of His creatures.  He knew all things, even His own impending death, and yet He came.  He could call forth legions of angels to defend Him, and yet He became helpless as a little infant.

The Psalmist says that Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.  God’s mercy was reconciled with the truth.  His Law and Righteousness demand absolute perfection in every facet.  But God’s righteousness and truth found their place in the person of Jesus Christ.  The conflict was won!  That is the great mystery of the incarnation, of Christ’s birth as a man.  God and man are reconciled.

Oh how blessed that wondrous birthday, when the virgin full of grace, brought to birth mankind’s salvation, and the savior of our race.  And the babe, the world’s redeemer, first revealed His sacred face.  Evermore and evermore.

May this mystery of God’s love in flesh be yours now and forevermore.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Advent III Midweek (December 20, 2000)

Psalm 85