With special gratitude to Rev. Dr. R. Reed Lessing for his Advent 2011
Sermon Series Resources
"Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates"
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. [Amen.]
"How blest the land, the city blest,
Where Christ the ruler is confessed!
O peaceful hearts and happy homes
To whom this King in triumph comes!
The cloudless sun of joy is He
Who comes to set His people free.
To God the Spirit raise
Your grateful shouts of praise."
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
340:3)
Epistle Reading...........................................................
Isaiah 40:1-11 (esp. 9)
Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your
voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
Let me tell you about one of St. Louis' most recent success
stories . the Build-a-Bear Workshop. Back in 1997 Maxine Clark opened the
first Build-a-Bear Workshop at the Galleria Shopping Center. Today there
are over 300 such workshops world-wide. Here's what happens at them.
First, you choose from over thirty models of bears. Next, you
take your bear and stuff it, stitch it, fluff it, dress it, accessorize it,
and . name it. The result is that you have your "beary own bear!" To prove
it you are given a customized birth certificate. It's then your own
personal creation!
Israel in Babylonian captivity hundreds of years before the
incarnate birth of Jesus in Bethlehem wasn't building bears . they were
building gods (lower case "g"!). They were spending time in what we might
call "Babylonian build-a-god workshops." Isaiah describes the tools and the
trade in chapter 44, verses 9 through 17. But before we hear about that let's
consider what's said about idols in other places of Holy Scripture.
Of course, the basis for this consideration is the First
Commandment, in which God plainly tells us, "You shall have no other gods
[lower case 'g'!]." The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther sheds light on its
meaning by telling us quite simply and succinctly, "We should fear, love,
and trust in God [upper case 'G'!] above all things." (Luther's Small
Catechism with Explanation. Copyright © 1986, 2008 Concordia Publishing
House, St. Louis, MO. Pages 11 & 56.)
Our newest Synodical Catechism provides further clarification
about this when we read that "God forbids us to have other gods [lower case
'g'!] ([identified as] idolatry)." It goes on to explain that people "have
other gods [lower case 'g'!] A. when they regard and worship any creature or
thing as God [upper case 'G'!]; B. when they believe in a god [lower case 'g'!]
who is not the triune God [upper case 'G'!] (see the Apostles' Creed [for
His identity description]); C. when they fear, love, or trust in any person
or thing as they should fear, love, and trust in God [upper case 'G'!]
alone; [and] D. when they join in the worship of one who is not the triune
God [upper case 'G'!]" (Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation. Pages
57-59.)
Among the many Biblical passages that shed light on and expose the
foolishness of idolatry are three that do so especially explicitly. First,
the unidentified writer of Psalm 115 reveals that "Their idols are silver
and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not
smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do
not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so
do all who trust in them." (Ps 115:4-8 ESV)
Second, the prophet Jeremiah recorded the words from Yahweh
Himself that tell us, ". every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for
his images are false, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a
work of delusion . ." (Jer 10:14-15a ESV)
Third, the apostle Paul railed against idolatry when he wrote to
the church in Rome about people who worship them that ". although they knew
God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became
futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming
to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God
for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than
the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." (Rom 1:21-25 ESV)
Now we go back to Isaiah chapter 44 in which Yahweh declared,
"Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I
know not any." (Isa 44:8 ESV) Immediately following that reassuring
statement He proceeded to expose the foolishness of idolatry by telling the
Israelites, "All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight
in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be
put to shame. Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for
nothing? Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the
craftsmen are only human." (Isa 44:9-11a ESV) Many years later St. Paul
identified that "Rock" when he wrote that the Israelites in the Old
Testament "drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock
was Christ." (1 Cor 10:4 ESV) Of course, Christ Himself had already
declared that reality about Himself when He told Peter, "and on this rock
[referring to Himself] I will build my church . ." (Matt 16:18 ESV)
Needless to say, God (upper case 'G'!) was and continues to be deeply
grieved by and righteously angry about idolatry!
But there's more to this developing ugly picture. In Isaiah
chapter 46 verse 1 the prophet tells us that the names of these Babylonian
gods (lower case 'g'!) were "Bel" and "Nebo." Bel is the title of the god
(lower case 'g'!) Marduk. He was supposedly the "King of the Universe."
Nebo was the son of Marduk and, as the god (lower case 'g'!) of writing and
wisdom, he preserved the Tablets of Destiny. As such, the Babylonians
believed Nebo gave them knowledge and understanding.
Just as Israel was slow to trust the true God (upper case 'G'!),
don't we also often find ourselves in a similar situation? There's a part
in all of us that delights in what we might call "creative craftsmanship."
We conceive it in our mind. We build it with our hands. We choose its
appearance according to our desire. We personalize it with our preferences.
It's just what we want in a god (lower case 'g'!). It's one who likes what
we like, hates what we hate, and shares our opinions. It's one who
increases our standard of living and happiness. This is a god (lower case
'g'!) who gives us what we want and stays out of our way the rest of the
time.
John Calvin stated that the human heart is a perpetual idol
factory. Commenting on the first commandment in his Large Catechism, Luther
stated, "That to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is, I say,
really your God."
What are some of the idols we build . things that impede or
threaten to eliminate our relationship with Jesus Christ? Perhaps they
include a retirement investments portfolio that absorbs so much of our
income that we then give God only crumbs, meager leftovers, or nothing at
all; a vocation or career in which we seek to advance at any expense or
without regard for others around us; a house that is never quite
satisfactory so we constantly renovate, remodel, and modernize it; a car,
truck, van, or SUV that looks the nicest and has the latest and most
technologically-advanced gadgets; or anything and everything else that may
hurt or harm our body, mind, or soul . that is, any and all things that
Satan may use to focus our attention on I-me-my distractions instead of
divinely-inspired matters of a faith-based relationship with the true Triune
God.
In Isaiah chapter 46, verse 1 the prophet calls idols atsabim,
translated in the English Standard Version with "idols," yet the word also
means "pain." For example, atsabon appears in Genesis chapter 3, verse 16
to describe Eve's pain at childbirth and again in Genesis chapter 3, verse
17 to capture Adam's pain at working the ground that became full of thorns
and thistles after Eve and he sinned. Idols bring the same misery,
heartache, and pain to us today that our first parents experienced.
In Isaiah chapter 41, verse 29 the prophet calls idols ephes which
means "nothing." Isaiah maintains that those who follow idols believe in
nothing of substance, care for nothing that matters, seek to know nothing of
importance, find purpose in nothing that lasts, live for nothing that
endures, and remain alive because when it comes to something to die for
there is absolutely nothing!
In Isaiah chapter 44, verse 9 the prophet continues by calling
idols tohu. That Hebrew word first appears in Genesis chapter 1, verse 2 to
describe the world before the Lord spoke it into existence. You see, idols
are pictures of disorder and despair; they are formless and void. People
addicted to them get lost in an ocean of chaos where they no longer see or
hear God (upper case 'G'!).
Why do idols have such power? Paul reveals in 1 Corinthians
chapter 10, verse 20 that the worship of idols is worship "offered to
demons." Idols have such magnetizing power to imprison us and rid us of our
God-given humanity because Satan, who "is a liar and the father of lies."
(John 8:44 ESV), is the sinister reality behind every sinful addiction,
every sinful compulsion, and every sinful obsession. No wonder David
declared that "The sorrows of those who run after another god [lower case 'g'!]
shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take
their names on my lips." (Ps 16:4 ESV)
So what is the solution to this devil-designed dilemma?
In the context of such massive idolatry we have a word from God
(upper case 'G'!). Isaiah wrote, "Behold your God [upper case 'G'!]!" (Isa
40:9 ESV) Earlier he wrote, "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.'" (Isa 35:4 ESV) That's God's
comforting and reassuring message of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal
life to us today as well. That's what this annual formal celebration of our
Savior's incarnate birth is all about.
In the fullness of time Jesus came and, in one instant, He made
Himself breakable. He who was larger than the universe became a tiny Baby
born of a humble virgin mother who wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid
Him in an animal feed trough. And He who sustains the world with His holy
almighty word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of His sinful
teenage mother. Our God came, not as a flash of light, or as an
unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard in a
cattle stall along with cows and sheep. No silk, no ivory, no hype, no
hoopla.
His adult feet later-in-life felt the cold sea water and writhed
at the invasion of the nail mercilessly hammered into them. His adult heart
was torn by people's accusations, crushed under the weight of our sin, and
pierced by our transgressions. His adult eyes saw our shame because, like
Adam and Eve, no matter how hard we try we cannot hide from Him who "came to
seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10 ESV) They see our selfishness when
we neglect or refuse to freely give back to Him as He has given to us. And,
they see our pain because our sins fill us so full of hurt. His calloused
hands touched lepers, held little children, broke bread, clawed the ground
at Gethsemane, and were stretched out on and nailed to the Roman instrument
of death-Calvary's cross-where His and our heavenly Father abandoned Him to
suffer death itself in our place and for us.
Because he bled and died in our place, Jesus demonstrated that He
alone is able to heal our hurts, forgive our filth, and defeat our death.
No wonder the Bible says that idols are nothing but chaos and only compound
our pain because a cross-less god (lower case 'g'!) is no god at all. A god
who doesn't suffer, a god who doesn't know agony, a god who doesn't die;
that's a god without grace, a god who can't deliver mercy, and a god who
offers no hope for and no future of eternal life in heaven.
But that's not the real Jesus! He who was crucified is alive!
His powerful resurrection from the dead defeated sin, Satan, and death
itself thereby providing fullness of life for us now and in the eternal
future. So let's honor the newborn King this Christmas and always by
abandoning our sinful tools that we used to build idols, stopping the
construction of those substitute-gods, throwing away the ones that we still
possess, and striving by the Holy Spirit's power that He gives us in God's
Holy Word and the Blessed Sacrament of Holy Communion to never ever again do
business at a build-a-god workshop.
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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