Sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent
Where Jesus' Gospel Becomes YOURS
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord
Jesus Christ! Amen. In today's Gospel is St. Mark chapter one verse one, the
starting point in this Evangelist's history of your Lord's Good News for
you: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." St. Mark
then goes on to explain to you that, as far as he is concerned, the Gospel
belonging to Jesus begins in Baptism: "John appeared (more literally, "John
came into being" or "John happened"), baptizing in the wilderness and
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."
Dear Christian friends,
When Luther spoke about the forgiveness that your Christ won for
you, he spoke about it in a way that not many people speak today. Luther
spoke about the message of forgiveness as though it was his own possession.
Luther repeatedly spoke about "my gospel" and "my theology," a habit he
probably learned from the apostle Paul (Romans 2:16, 16:25, 2 Timothy 2:8;
cf. Philippians 4:19.)
a.. For example, when he described his now-famous "Luther seal," which our
children learned about in their Vacation Bible School, Luther stated that
this seal is "a symbol of my theology" (AE 49, 358).
a.. When speaking about the way he had come to believe what he now
believed, Luther said, "I didn't learn my theology all at once. I had to
ponder over it." (AE 54, 50).
Luther also believed you and every Christian-not just pastors and
theologians-but you and every Christian should likewise speak in these same
terms:
A Christian often says: "This is my message, my Baptism, my Christ, my God,
my Gospel," although, strictly speaking, they are not his. He [the
Christian] did not invent them; they did not come from him; they are not of
his making. And yet they are his, his gifts, given to him by God (AE 23,
224).
There you have a very good way to look at today's Gospel, dear
saints. St. Mark speaks about "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
the Son of God" and St. Mark places this beginning into the Baptismal font
for you:
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. John appeared,
baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins.
By speaking in this way, St. Mark shows you where Jesus' Gospel becomes YOUR
Gospel; where the Good News concerning Jesus becomes the Good News now
concerning YOU; where Jesus' God and Father becomes YOUR God and Father;
where the History of this only-begotten Son of God becomes YOUR history and
the history of all the adopted sons of God.
Amazingly, St. Mark wants to tell you about "the beginning of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God," but he tells you nothing about your
Lord's birth! St. Luke's Gospel has the decree from Caesar Augustus, the
crowded Bethlehem, the manger and the shepherds keeping their flocks. St.
Matthew has Joseph's worries and the angelic intervention and the naming of
this Child Jesus. Here today at the beginning of his Gospel, St. Mark sweeps
everything off the table that has to do with our Lord's conception and
birth. St. Mark goes straight to Baptism:
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. John appeared,
baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins.
With these words, St. Mark downplays, not only Jesus' miraculous
birth, but also the miraculous birth of John the Baptist. St. Mark carefully
states, "John appeared." These words could be more literally translated,
"John came into being" or "John happened." It is almost as if St. Mark would
have us think that the Baptizer materialized out of nothing. The news of
childbirth-of Jesus and of John-the news of childbirth is beside the point
for this particular Gospel writer.
We should not misunderstand St. Mark. We should not take him to
mean that your Lord's birth is totally unimportant or that St. Mark would
deny Jesus' birth of the Virgin. Later in his Gospel, St. Mark speaks about
Jesus' "mother and brothers" (Mark 3:31). St. Mark also describes the
indignation felt by the people of Nazareth when Jesus preached in their
synagogue. St. Mark describes their indignation in terms of Jesus' human
nature and birth of a woman: "'Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary
and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not His sisters
here with us?' And they took offense at Him" (Mark 6:3).
For these reasons, we do not need to think that St. Mark intends
to deny Jesus' birth by the way his Gospel focuses its beginning on Baptism.
St. Mark merely wishes to emphasize a point that can never be
overemphasized: Jesus' Gospel, as far as St. Mark is concerned, begins in
Baptism. "John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."
Luther's somewhat unusual manner of speaking lays bare the great
importance this Gospel has for you. Luther spoke about the Good News of
Christ's forgiveness as if it were Luther's own possession. He called it "my
gospel" and "my theology." You-and every one of your fellow Christians with
you-should learn to think along the same lines. You should force yourself
into the habit of speaking about "your gospel" and "your theology." You
could say things like:
a.. "My theology compels me to receive the sacrament of the altar
regularly, for here I receive my Lord's pledge and token of forgiveness and
life."
a.. "My Gospel grows more comforting for me every day, especially in light
of all my repeated sins and failures."
a.. "My Gospel and my theology will give great benefits also to you."
When you teach yourself to think and to speak in this manner, you
will be doing more than learning from or emulating a great theologian of the
Christian Church. When you learn to speak about "your Gospel" and "your
theology," you will be wrapping your heart and your mind around what St.
Mark is proclaiming to you here today:
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. John appeared,
baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins.
Using such phrases as "my gospel" and "my theology," you will be confessing
before God and man that everything belonging to Jesus is now yours: the
Gospel belonging to Jesus is YOUR Gospel; the forgiveness secured by Jesus
is YOUR forgiveness; the death died by Jesus is YOUR death; the resurrection
victory won by Jesus is YOUR resurrection; everything that Jesus earned by
His suffering and death is now credited to you.
Quiz question: If Baptism is the starting point for the Gospel
belonging to Jesus the Son of God, as St. Mark declares today, where is the
starting point of this Gospel that is now your Gospel? I will say again what
I said earlier: St. Mark shows you today where Jesus' Gospel becomes YOUR
Gospel; where the Good News concerning Jesus becomes the Good News now
concerning YOU; where Jesus' God and Father becomes YOUR God and Father;
where the History of this only-begotten Son of God becomes YOUR history and
the history of all the adopted sons of God. Everything begins for you,
dearly loved and fully forgiven saint, everything begins for you also in
Baptism. St. Mark speaks about "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
the Son of God" and St. Mark places this beginning in the Baptismal font FOR
YOU so that the Gospel of forgiveness and life may start there also FOR YOU.
One of the great blessings and joys of St. Mark's Gospel is that,
while it has a clear beginning, it has no end. At least, no one really knows
where the end of St. Mark's Gospel is. Take a look at the last chapter of
St. Mark in your Bible some time, and you will see that I mean. No one can
agree where the Gospel of St. Mark truly ends. In effect, this "Gospel of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God" has no end!
The same is true for you, dear saint. The same is true of YOUR
Gospel and YOUR theology. God your heavenly Father has given your Gospel and
your theology a very clear starting point. He has begun your Gospel for you
here in the baptismal font. The end of your Gospel is known to no man. The
end of your Gospel extends beyond the farthest reaches of time and space and
human comprehension. Your Gospel has no end because Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, has come and Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has forgiven you all your
sins. "Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation"
(Small Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar, part 2), and these things have no
end.
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