That day is called the birthday of the Lord on which the Wisdom of God manifested Himself as a speechless Child and the Word of God wordlessly uttered the sound of a human voice. His divinity, although hidden, was revealed by heavenly witness to the shepherds by angelic voices. With yearly ceremony, therefore, we celebrate this day which saw the fulfillment of the prophecy…(St. Augustine sermon clxxxv)
  
Tonight, we come to the manger in Bethlehem to worship God’s own Word made flesh, beginning with a meditation upon the Incarnation by St. Augustine of Hippo. From the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, we can hear only silence. The Word of God made flesh is as speechless as every newborn babe. The Word of the Eternal Father, His only and everlastingly begotten Son, is made man for us and for our salvation. From conception in the Virgin’s womb, and now in His birth, He has come into the world to redeem fallen man.

But at first, there is the silence of the child himself. From the child, we hear only inarticulate cries. The sound of this infant’s voice must be heard but cannot be understood. We don’t expect to understand the vocation and calling of any baby. We must wait till he grows to discover what He plans to do. So tonight is shrouded in mystery.

But we believe that the birth of this child was foretold to the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Angel Gabriel and accomplished through the agency of the Holy Ghost. We believe that in some mysterious way Christ’s conception and birth are part and parcel of our salvation. Rather than saving us by some paranormal divine blast of divine thunder, God chose to become one of us. His intention is not hard to imagine. Because the whole of fallen man’s existence must be redeemed, God will begin at the beginning, first in the womb and then in the birth to reunite the whole of human life to God, from the manger to the Cross, from birth to death. And so, the Son of God allows Himself to be born of woman, held in her arms, nurtured and nourished in the way common to all men. In so doing, Christ blesses the conception and birth of all men. Christ takes on our human life from the womb to birth and beyond. And while most of the world was spiritually asleep, while most of the world didn’t notice, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. (St. John. i. 14)

But those who first welcomed God’s Word made flesh were simple men, shepherds abiding in their field by night. They were not philosophers or theologians. Philosophers and theologians always have trouble with the fact that God became a baby. To them, the Truth and Word of God belong to Heaven and the eternal realm. But to shepherds, God is a close friend who in the darkness of a dangerous night protects their flocks from robbers and wolves. They depend upon God for protection and care. There is always something childlike in a shepherd, whose life is simple and close to God’s creation. That God’s angels came to shepherds to announce the birth of the Savior should not surprise us. Shepherds’ lives are uncomplicated and unsophisticated. And unlike earthly kings and princes, they are relatively poor. Simplicity and humility are always ripe for the coming of God’s Word made flesh.    

That the shepherds should be the first to learn of His coming is most suitable. In Him, these simple men can believe that God has visited His people. As the shepherds care for their sheep, why shouldn’t God be made man to shepherd them? A newborn babe is of much greater interest to shepherds than to philosophers or earthy rulers. The shepherds live so close to a world where the barest of necessities of protection and love have meaning. They are used to being content with small things. God’s gift, a small babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, will be of great value to them.

Jesus Christ is God’s own Son born into the world. As God, He needs nothing. He needs nothing of the philosopher’s complicated rational demands. He has no use for the riches and palaces of the princes of this world. To save man, He needs only become a baby in need of His mother’s milk and loving care. The eternally begotten Word made flesh reveals Himself as content with the bare necessities of life. He needs only the simplest of things to begin His earthly journey. As a babe, He will be protected by his foster father, Joseph the Carpenter. Having all He needs, He will look out with awesome wonder and awe at the world He had made.

There was no room in the inn for the Holy Family. Civilized society rejects this birth. Civilized society treats the shepherds with equal scorn. No matter. The Holy Family and the shepherds can become the friends of God while the rest of the world is asleep, or too busy with their complicated lives to notice. What is hidden from the world is revealed by the Holy Family to those whom the world has rejected. God’s Word is made flesh in simplicity and first comes to simple men. Poverty is no obstacle to God’s revelation in His Son. Shepherds are not too mean and lowly to be made His first worshipers. The uncomplicated nature of the birth, in obscurity and hiddenness, has touched those who have little but their sheep, the fields, the sky and the stars above.
        
God desires nothing from men but a heart moved and touched by the arrival of His love. The shepherds have been vigilant at work, watching over their flocks by night, tired but awake to what might come next. Joseph is worn out having sought refuge for the birth of his foster child. The Blessed Virgin is exhausted having to give birth in a manger, a cratch, an uncomfortable place. Christ will be born and will begin to reveal himself in the brutal reality of hard and incommodious human life. Christ will be born into a world that is not expecting His arrival. God comes to reveal Himself in and through the earth and not on floating above it. There is no golden glow or rich pageantry to accompany Christ’s birth. Here we find a poor baby born on a rag of cloth, in a barn smelling of animals and sweat, on a dirt floor in a dark shed. Here we find the Saviour of the world worshiped by tired and dirty herdsmen.

Can this Word that was made flesh long ago be born for us tonight? Or are we like those who didn’t notice Christ’s birth, spiritually asleep or too busy to be bothered? Will the timeless One, the Word of God enter the brief span of our day and be born for us as He was in Bethlehem? If He will be born for us, as we remember His entry into our fallen world, perhaps we must recall where Christ was born and to whom. We do well to realize that more often than not, our lives are like dirty and smelly old mangers and barns. We are frustrated that our lives are too dysfunctional, ordinary, or complicated. We too are like the shepherds, consumed with our sheep, spending sleepless nights wondering what might become of us and our families. Are these obstacles or opportunities for the Christ Child to be born in our midst? No doubt, we are not as poor and desperate as 1st-century shepherds. But surely, we can identify with the manger and shepherds more than we might like to admit. To admit it, is necessary.

Christ’s birth seems inauspicious and unfortunate. But Christ heralds His coming into our world as one of us, destined to suffer and struggle for our redemption. Mary and Joseph struggled and suffered to find a place for this child’s birth. They must have been confused that God hadn’t provided more suitable accommodation. The birthplace is as solitary, dirty, disappointing, and seemingly ordinary as that of the shepherds’ fields. No sooner is Christ born but the Holy Family must flee into exile to escape the jealousy and wrath of King Herod. Christ’s birth heralds an adult life that will provoke rejection, envy, and rage. Later, far removed from the inconspicuous manger and the simple credulity of the shepherds, He will be attacked, maligned, and rejected by the philosophers, theologians, and princes of this world. Eventually, He will suffer and die at their hands in order to persist in the project of our salvation.

But none of this need present itself as an obstacle to our salvation. His humble birth in simple conditions should not keep us from Him. As the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world (ibid, 9), Christ has come into our darkness, dirt, dilapidation, and difficulty. The light shineth in the darkness and the darkness overcame it not. Christ the Light will shed light on our darkness if we welcome Him. His Light will shine on the hideousness of our sin. It is in our ordinary and sinful condition that Christ expects to find us. This is where He always reveals Himself. Let us pray for the humility and courage to go to Bethlehem this night. Still, He will shine the Light into our darkness. And if we realize that our darkness cannot overcome His light, a sparkle of hope will fill our breasts and our journey in hope will begin.  

Amen.
©wjsmartin
 
 

 
 
Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice.
 
On the last Sunday in Advent, you and I are called to come to know the Word made flesh and to Rejoice. Our recognition of Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh, and our rejoicing are gifts coming to us from the heart of John the Baptist. Today John the Baptist prepares us for Christ’s coming into his Body, the Church, and especially for His first coming, which we remember on Christmas Day. We are called to discover the character that both knows Jesus Christ as the Word and Wisdom of God made flesh and to rejoice in Him.
           
But first, in today’s Gospel, John the Baptist teaches us to know ourselves and our need for Jesus Christ. The Jews sent Priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. John the Baptist never pretended to be Christ. He confesses that he is not even Elijah the prophet. Malachi had foretold that Elijah would come before the Second Coming of the Lord. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. (Mal. iv. 5)  But the Angel Gabriel insists that it is John who shall go before [Jesus Christ] in the spirit and power of Elijah (Lk. i. 17). Both are messengers and forerunners who prepare us for Christ’s coming. John prepares for the first coming, and Elijah for the second. John shares with Elijah the vocation of precursor and preparer. John Baptist says, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. (St. John i. 23) John has come to prepare the Jewish people for the coming of the Lord. His preparation begins with a confession of who he is truly. He calls us too to know ourselves as those who need always make straight the way of the Lord. (Idem)

John comes and teaches us to repent before welcoming Christ’s coming. Repent ye, for the kingdom of God is at Hand. (Matt. iii. 2) We must repent because we must remember that we are always sinners in need of the Saviour. Because our righteousness is always mixed with sin, we must make repentance an habitual part of our spiritual lives. But repentance is only a beginning. Repentance prepares us for the salvation that Jesus Christ alone can bring into our lives. John tells us: I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not: he it is who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. (St. John i. 26) From the depths of John’s heart we come to know that our repentance must empty us of ourselves, making within our souls a spiritual place that welcomes Christ’s coming. John has a baptism with water for repentance, but Christ shall baptize…with the Holy Ghost. (St. Mark i. 8) John’s baptism will cleanse us outwardly, and Christ’s baptism will purify us inwardly.
           
With John the Baptist, you and I must move out of the world and into the soul. We are too much at home in this world. John comes to teach us that this is not our home. Christians ought to know that this world is a place of passage and pilgrimage, from wilderness and exile to the true homeland and City of our God. Like John the Baptist, you and I must come to know ourselves and confess our sins. With the Baptist, we must learn that if left to our own devices, we shall be consumed with ourselves, forget who we are and what we need, and, thus, be ripe for Hell. 

We live in a time when the human heart seems so far removed from any need to seek out and find God. We live in a world whose idolatry hides us from the knowledge of God. John the Baptist, bearing the spirit of Elijah, calls us away from our idolatry. Anything that claims our time, attention, and money more than God is an idol. Anything that consumes, owns, and possesses us more than God is an idol. The idol is a false god. False gods come in many forms. It might be our bodily health. We spend so much time going to doctors but not to our pastors and priests for help with our souls. It might be earthly riches. We are unhinged daily by the stock markets’ irrational insecurity. Why don’t we focus on the riches and treasures of Heaven? To my knowledge, we can’t take earthly riches with us. If we think that we can, we are sure to go to Hell. An idol or false god stands between us and salvation. Our idol worship might even turn others off from God. Why? They will see that our religion is vain and fraudulent. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew vi 24)

John Baptist comes to help us abandon our false gods. He proclaims, Bear fruits that befit repentance, for even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (St. Matthew iii. 8, 10) With John’s contemporaries, we might ask, What then shall we do? John the Baptist tells us not only to repent but to purge. He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise. (St. Luke iii 11) He tells us to be content with less in earthly terms as we pursue more in spiritual terms. Collect no more than is appointed you. (Ibid, 12) John wants us to focus on Christ’s coming and what it must mean for us if we hope to be saved. He who is coming after me is mightier than me, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (Ibid, 14-16) This is serious business. We are made to be redeemed by God’s Spirit of fire, a spiritual fire that will slowly but surely burn off our desire for earthly things and our passions that depend so uncertainly on other people and worldly relationships.

The outside world and our dependence on it could land us in Hell. With John, let us prepare for the Lord’s coming with repentance and otherworldly generosity. St. Paul, another messenger, says let your moderation be known unto all men. For the Lord is at hand. (Phil. iv. 5) He warns us to be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (Phil. iv. 6) The Virgin Mother of our Lord reminds us: The rich he hath sent empty away. (St. Luke i. 53) Moderation is a virtue that tempers our selfish addiction to our own riches and encourages generosity. John and Paul want us to know that Christ’s coming brings bountiful grace and mercy to speedily help and deliver us (Collect, Advent IV) from false gods.
           
John also exhorts us to mourning. We must mourn over our sins and how we have hurt others and ourselves by turning away from Christ. We must pray for the gift of tears. St. John Chrysostom reminds us that our physical tears begin to heal those who grieve. Our spiritual tears begin to cleanse us from sin. The water with which John baptizes penitents symbolizes the tears that purify the soul that awaits the coming of Christ. The tears that unceasing prayer offers…are resurrectional. (Philokalia) Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. (St. Matthew v 4)
We weep so that we might rejoice. Our preparation for the coming of Christ, heralded by St. John the Baptist, intends to make us new and ripe for rejoicing in Christ’s Holy Incarnation. St. Paul says today, Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say Rejoice. (Phil. iv. 4) We must rejoice in Jesus Christ’s coming to the soul. John’s cry for confession, contrition, and compunction prepares us to be filled with the salvation that Christ’s birth brings. Sorrow must yield to joy. When joy defines our lives, we shall have perfect confidence and hope in Christ’s coming. Today, Christ promises to infuse us with His presence to deepen and perfect our belief and hope that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. And, in closing, let us remember with Austin Farrer that
We cannot come to God, He is beyond our reach; but He can come to us, for we are not beneath His mercy.
 
Amen.
 
©wjsmartin

 By turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just…
(Collect, Advent III)
 
We have been saying that in Advent we are preparing to meet Christ, the newborn Savior of the world, on Christmas night. Advent teaches us that we are preparing to meet our God. The urgency of the matter at hand was articulated on Advent Sunday. Last Sunday, we were taught that we must conscientiously study Scripture to understand the necessity for action. Today we are reminded that we need teachers and instructors in the faith so as not to go astray.
        
Of course, the need for teachers and an institution to help us to salvation runs against the grain of postmodern man’s obsession with his own self-importance and intelligence. Individual will run riot characterizes postmodern man’s footloose and fancy-free attitude to life. Men place themselves first and are leery of submitting to any form of authority lest their intellectually flimsy opinions be exposed.
But, on the other hand, who can blame them? The institutions of higher learning and even the churches are now run by men are obsessed with themselves and the pursuit of money and mammon against truth through wisdom.
        
So, what is the earnest Christian to do at a time when the representatives of church and state, science and religion have sold their birthrights for a mess of porridge at the booth of Vanity Fair? Some years back, Russell Kirk, the Sage of Mecosta, founder of the modern conservative movement, and no stranger to worldly censure, exile, and adversity, shared his solution to the failures of both church and state with his friend William F. Buckley, Jr., who was visiting Kirk’s stump country home, Piety Hill, from cosmopolitan New York. Buckley and Kirk were in the library. Buckley, clearly at a far remove from the Big Apple, a long way from what he judged, barely, as civilization, and sensing the loneliness of the conscientious scholar, asked, What do you do for companionship? Kirk, in his own inimitably defiant way, raised his hand and pointed to the books lining the walls. There, Mr. Buckley, you will find my friends! Russell Kirk’s friends and companions were always sure to be found and ready for engagement in the great poets, historians, philosophers, statesmen, prophets, and saints of Western Civilization. Kirk never despaired. He could not, for most of his friends had known suffering and sacrifice of a higher order than his own. From them, he culled the truth and summoned courage. His friends were his teachers, and because they imbued him with the permanent things, the first principles that make for goodness on earth and hope for Heaven, he felt the urgency to pass it all on.
        
Kirk was an orthodox Christian, and his intellectual position derived from the great moral teachers of Western Civilization, both pagan and Christian. He knew that he was responsible to an enterprise far greater than himself and more profound than his words could express. He liked to quote Fulbert of Chartres, a 12th-century scholar, who said, while we moderns might be able to see a little farther than our ancestors in certain ways, regarding greater truth, still, we are dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. Kirk always insisted that without the great minds of Western Civilization as our teachers and guides, without our ancestors, we are in danger of forgetting the past and falling into errors far greater than they ever could have imagined. Kirk, quoting G. K. Chesterton, went on to say that in deciding any moral or political question, we have the obligation to consult the considered opinions of the wise men who have preceded us in time. (Kirk, The Enemies of the Permanent Things, p. 27)   
        
Of course, Kirk and Chesterton, along with the sane men of all ages, derived their positions from Christendom. Long before the varied sciences of philosophy, sociology, and ethics severed themselves from the sacred tutelage of the Christian Saints, the Church had established itself as the Schoolhouse for civilization. To justify her claims, the Church was responsible for interpreting the history of mankind and God’s response to it through Jesus Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit. The Church and her teachers were called to serve truth. When at her best, the Church knew that she was a dwarf, standing on the shoulders of giants, first the priests, prophets, and kings of Israel, and later upon Christ Himself, and then His Apostles. The summary of the Church’s history was first Israel, and then Israel’s spiritual journey as understood with the help of Greek wisdom. The history of the Church’s Bible, Creeds, and Councils reveals an indebtedness to truth concerning Man and God for goodness in the world and righteousness for Heaven.
        
The posture is one of humility. When the Church was faithful, she humbled herself before history and its giants. In the course of time, she produced her own giants, the great wise men who explained truth. And the Church’s greatest exponent of the method to be pursued was the Apostle Paul. He gives us a view into his method in this morning’s Epistle. Paul considers himself to be no giant. He is rather the servant of both history and revelation, indebted to the past. Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. (1 Cor. iv. 1) Paul is no ruler or governor. He is a servant and minister for the truth. Paul takes it further. He reminds his listeners that he will not be judged by them, nor will he even judge himself! (ibid, 3) Paul will not be scrutinized by others or by himself. Paul must be judged by a higher standard, by history and history’s God. Paul the evangelist, apostle, and teacher must be a servant of Christ, with Christ within judging him and guiding Him into all truth. The Permanent Things, which Christ came down from heaven to put into man’s grasp once again, ruled and governed Paul. The ministers of the Church were called to be about God’s business. They were called to minister the Gospel truth to the flock of Christ. Christ the way, the truth, and the light would bring to light what is hidden in darkness, reveal the secrets of all men’s hearts, and reward them accordingly. (ibid, 5)
        
Paul knew that the servant is not above his Master. (St. Matthew x. 24) But Paul had learned his lesson the hard way. He thought that he knew more than history’s giants. Dare we say that he thought he knew more than God Himself? Christ had to throw Paul down off the high horse of his pride to recall his mind to God’s wisdom for the kingdom. Paul had to learn humility before history and history’s God. Paul had to become like John Baptist, whom we read about in today’s Gospel. John the Baptist is imprisoned, awaiting death for telling the truth to King Herod about his adulterous marriage. John was a true minister of Jesus Christ. He was preparing the way for Christ’s coming. He was so faithful to Christ that he suffered for it. His knowledge of the ancient Law of Israel and his service of the permanent things put him at odds with the rulers of his own age. With caution, with prudence, he wanted to ensure that Christ was the Son of God. Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another? (St. Matthew xi. 3) John, like so many ministers of the Church, like so many in history who have sought the truth in loneliness with the rejection of men, would know the truth.
        
John is reminded that history will record what Christ has done.
 
Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:  the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. (ibid, 4,5)
 
Christ has come to open eyes to the wisdom of God, to make lame limbs move to the Kingdom, to cure men of spiritual disease, that they might hear the truth and come into new life. Christ will begin with physical healing that leads to spiritual health. Christ the possessor of the permanent things will apply truth to man’s fallen condition. John’s faith must not stumble at the pride of the Pharisees or the corruption of men. Future generations must not falter at the wickedness of the clergy or statesman in any contemporary society. Christ is greater than all. And if John and his disciples would follow Christ to the end, Christ would live in them and carry them home to the Kingdom. Blessed are they who shall not be offended in me. (Ibid, 6)
        
John the Baptist is a symbol of what future ministers of Christ in church and state were called to become. When John’s followers departed, Jesus asked his listeners what they thought of John Baptist.
 
What went ye out in the wilderness to see? A reed shaken in the wind? A man clothed in soft raiment? They that wear soft clothing are in king’s houses. What went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea more than a prophet. (ibid, 7,8,9) yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.  For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (ibid, 7-11)
 
What did they expect? A prophet shaken into disbelief? A princely bishop or worldly elite? Surely, a prophet. Here is one who has suffered for the truth. Here is one who sets the standard for ministry and learning in the future Church and beyond by believing that Christ redeems all history for Heaven. And while he may falter briefly, He merely needs Christ’s help to stay the course and remember the permanent things. Christ is least in the kingdom of Heaven, and He alone is greater than John Baptist for he enables John and us to make sense of history for posterity.
        
On this Third Sunday of Advent, the individual members of Church and State are recalled to the permanent things. The temptation for clerics and scholars today is to despair. But with the giants of history, we must heed the wisdom and warning of our friends from the past. Christ is always coming to us, and as Russell Kirk said, we must be concerned with our spirit and character – with the perennial problem of the inner order of the soul, the restoration of the ethical understanding, and the religious sanction upon which any life worth living is founded. For this reason, we may count the Sage of Mecosta among the giants whom we dwarves should heed.
 
Amen.
©wjsmartin
 
 
 

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth 
distress of nations, with perplexity…(St. Luke xxi. 25)
 
Advent is that season that is all about preparing for Christ’s coming. Christ is coming to us and is the Word of God that never dies. Last week we spoke of spiritual death to sin and Satan. Today we look more closely at the life that Christ brings to us. With eager expectation, we prepare for that life that came down from Heaven and brought eternity within man’s reach once again. But before we jump prematurely to that, on this Sunday of Advent we are called to prepare for Christ’s judgment of us. For we shall never begin the journey to His Kingdom unless we are prepared to be judged by Him, the Word of God. Today Christ the Word comes to us so that we might begin to measure our every thought and desire by His truth and to ensure that this Word is indeed our enduring hope.

In the Gospel appointed for today, Jesus establishes Himself as the Word spoken to those who will hear Him. He speaks of His own future coming, a final coming, when all things shall be measured and summed up in relation to Him. At the end of time, the Word of God, His rule and governance, will be established finally and definitively as what has always ruled and governed the universes and now will judge men’s lasting destiny. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (St. Luke 21. 27) Jesus will come to judge the world, to determine whether every man’s words and works are consistent with His will. Those who have been faithful and are deemed worthy will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who have been unfaithful and were the servants of false gods will be judged fit for Hell.

In the Gospel, Jesus states clearly that all men will be rewarded in a way that is suitable to their rational choices. But notice also the fear that will enslave some and not others. 
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. (St. Luke xxi. 25) 
 
Heaven will break open with Christ’s coming at the end of all time. Men who disobeyed, neglected or even rejected God’s existence will be full of anguish, anxiety, and affliction. These men’s hearts will be full of fear because then they will begin to feel the presence and power of God, who shakes the universe with his terrible wrath. The traumatic and paranormal seismic shift will herald the coming of Christ the Word as unrepentant sinners and unbelievers realize their error with unmitigated terror. Unfaithful earthly-minded men will see at last that their riches are lost, their power robbed, and their dignity destroyed.

At the same time, faithful heavenly-minded men will embrace the coming Glory as the reward for cleaving to the Word of God that never passes away. To them Jesus says, And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (St. Luke 21. 28) Though sinful men will be taken by surprise, as by a thief in the night, the faithful friends of Jesus shall be neither blindsided nor astonished. With faith and confidence, they shall begin to be swept up in their unfolding destiny because they have long since been judged, corrected, disciplined, and redeemed by the permanent and unchanging Word of Christ’s love. Jesus illustrates their spiritual state in the Parable of the Fig Tree. Jesus says, 

Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise, ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. (St. Luke 21: 30, 31) 
 
Faithful men shall see that Christ’s coming kingdom is like the time when nature bears her fruits. They shall remember that the worship of earthly mammon led only to sterility and impotence. They shall remember that earthly honor, riches, and dignity always pass away because they have no root in God’s Eternal Word. Then, they shall realize more fully that the Word of the Lord alone endureth forever. And so, in the high summer heat of the Word’s return, the bright and burning truth of God’s Word of love shall bring those to life who can withstand the heat because they alone have been growing spiritually. With His coming, they will rejoice and be exceeding glad, for the world will be destroyed, but the dynamically penetrating heat of God’s loving Word shall summon the fruits of His Spirit from their hearts as harvest for the Kingdom. 

So how does the Word of God judge us now? How can we apply this Word of God to our lives now so that at the Judgment we shall be found worthy of salvation? Our Collect for today helps us. It exhorts us to a faith that seeks understanding and then generates hope in God’s unchanging Word, that never passes away.

BLESSED Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ.
 
The Word of God, His communicated Wisdom to us and most fully revealed in the life of Jesus Christ, is found through a diligent and persistent hearing and reading of Holy Scripture. Scripture is all about the Word of God and its fulfillment in the life of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures must be noted, learned, and applied to our souls for spiritual digestion. We are called to inwardly digest their content because they give us patience in adversity, the comfort of heavenly healing, and the courage to clutch on to our hope, which is everlasting life. We must find in the Scriptures a record of God’s persistent, unalterable, and enduring love for us and our salvation. We must discover that Jesus Christ, God’s Word made Flesh, has, in these last days, become not only the forgiveness of our sins but our resurrection and life, neither of which need ever pass away.                                    

Hope in eternal life must be the object of our desire. Earthly-minded man hopes for things that perish and puts his faith in earthly things that grow old and pass away. Earthly man grows old and when life grows short, his hope grows weary, as Joseph Pieper writes. But spiritual man grows young because he hopes in a life that is ‘not yet’ and shall be as long as eternity. (Faith, Hope, Love, II, 110-111) Spiritual man hopes in a life that is just now starting to be lived in and through Christ, God’s Word. Spiritual man hopes in the Word that even now begins to prepare him for everlasting happiness with God. He has the audacity and courage to hope for a life supernaturally above and beyond this transitory world with its fleeting promises. Spiritual man hopes in heavenly promises, and he begins to find true and lasting joy in the permanent things. Because spiritual man is forever reaching out towards the goal he has not attained, he is forever being rejuvenated by God’s Grace. He believes that what he learns from Jesus is making him better and better, and stronger and stronger because the Word of God that never passes away is leading him out of sin and into righteousness. And even when the pilgrimage calls for suffering and sacrifice, spiritual man learns to never count the cost but to wage war on sin courageously, intending finally to defeat it through the power of Christ’s death and resurrection.  The root of spiritual man’s life is hope in Jesus Christ, who takes his nature and rejuvenates him for Heaven. 

In this holy season of Advent, we are called to be transformed by the unchanging and enduring Word of God’s love in Jesus Christ. So let our judgment begin today. Let us judge ourselves according to Christ, the Word of God. Let us humbly fall down before Him now to confess our sins, receive His forgiveness, and endeavor to honor his counsel and correction. And let us remember always that the Word of God which never passes away is with us every step of the way with patience and comfort to help us, heal us, repair us, and redeem us because wants us as His own forever.

Amen.
©wjsmartin