In a fascinating way, while the church is adorned with the tradition of an Advent wreath to help us mark time and properly prepare our hearts for the coming of our Savior, do we keep this tradition correctly so that we might stay focused and receive Christ’s coming properly? 

In a glorious and comforting way, you are not tasked with reasoning or rationalizing the will of God. Instead, you are to be as Joseph and receive the messenger and Word of God as it is spoken to you. Through this word, permit the Holy Spirit to create faith within you and lead you through the trials and unknowns of life, faithfully trusting Jesus, who came in the womb of the Virgin Mary to redeem you upon the cross.

Reflect on how Martin Luther also teaches this truth in the Small Catechism and how the Christian should arise each morning; he says you should make the sign of the cross to remember your Baptism, that drowning of the Old Adam and the raising of the new man, then pray the Morning Prayer like we do at the beginning of Sunday School and then conclude with the Lord’s Prayer before going about your tasks.

Remember, in the Lord’s Prayer, you pray, “Thy kingdom come.” With these words, you are always asking for Jesus to come with His grace and mercy.

And this text from Isaiah really gets to the heart of Gabriel’s message to Mary, she is going to bear a Son, Jesus, the One whose name will be Immanuel, which means God with us.

In a very physical way, Immanuel takes His place within the womb of Mary. He is God with her, and one of the messages of the Advent season is that Immanuel is God with you in the midst of the darkness of your fears.

For this reason, just as the true exercise of the Advent season is countercultural, the slowness to decorate, the wait to set up a tree, or fill its trunk with presents, also makes a life of prayer countercultural. 

But your prayers are the expression of a faith placed in Jesus Christ, who comes to redeem the world from sin and death. Which if you take a step back and listen to the words of the liturgy and the Divine Service, it’s one long exercise of prayer petitioning God to come to us, to lead us, and bring us into His eternal presence.

Just listen to the words we will pray as we prepare to receive the flesh and blood of Jesus in a few minutes, and I will speak the words, “As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” And you respond, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

In fact, throughout many parts of the Scriptures and the history of the Church, this meal, the Lord’s Supper, is called the Eucharist or εὐχαριστέω, which means “to give thanks.” Because of this, it’s the greatest Thanksgiving meal you could receive, as through it, you share in the meal of God’s eternal family, where you receive the bread of Christ’s body and drink from the one cup of His blood for the forgiveness of sin. 

What a gift it is to be members of this eternal family of God.

Through these words like those of the Creed and of Confession and Absolution, you are given the faith needed to keep watch throughout the days of life, your hearts are turned to Christ’s second coming, and with eagerness, you await the day, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, [the day when] He will sit on the throne of His glory.”

Like the multitudes, those faithful Christians from your family tree who make up your heritage also live and now dwell before God’s throne. They find shelter in His presence. They no longer hunger or thirst. Nor do they experience hardship or pain. No, their Shepherd, your Shepherd, has led them to springs of living water. 

The water of Holy Baptism has led them to eternity.

Similarly, the water of the font continues to lead you to follow the example of the saints who have gone before you, to give thanks for their lives and how God used them in His Church. As we remember those who rest with Jesus, we allow our faith to be strengthened as we reflect on the ways God was merciful and faithful to them. And finally, we strive to imitate their love for God and love for neighbor in and throughout our daily vocations.

Reflect on this and consider how the memory of God’s saints endures. It lives, and every time we gather here, the proper preface leads us to remember how God’s saints live with Him as the pastor sings, “Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify the Lord, evermore praising you and saying…”

My friends, there are many Pontus Pilates in your lives, asking, “What is truth?” even encouraging you to become the judge and creator of your own truths. This is one of the great challenges of the culture that children like McKinsey are growing up in.

But if we understand that Confirmation is more than just a step on the journey of life, but part of ongoing maturity in the Christian faith, a time to learn more deeply how to confess the faith received at one’s Baptism, then we begin to see that Confirmation is really about a reformation of the human heart. It’s a time to return to the cross and confess your sins, so that you might come to know and confess the divine love of Jesus Christ.  

The text just read from John 10 comes from the well-known Good Shepherd passage. Here, Jesus refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd and shows the intimate relationship between Him and His people, His flock.

This is a special relationship, too. A shepherd would live with the sheep, travel with them, guard and protect them, and safely lead them to good pasture.

Questions have been part of humanity since the beginning of time. The world’s chief doubter, Satan, asked the first question. The serpent said to the woman, Eve, “Did God actually say, you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1) Here, the trickery, deception, and leading away from the will of God by the serpent began.

It started with a question.

The result of Adam and Eve’s actions brought mankind into sin by disobeying the command of God not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The question by Satan ultimately was a test of Adam and Eve’s faithfulness and obedience to God’s command, a test they failed.

In the Old Testament, the Third Commandment was given to the Jewish people to stop laborious work, allowing both man and beast to rest from their endless toil. But in the New Testament, this day shifts its focus toward resting the spirit and soul of man, finding peace and renewal in Christ. For this reason, Luther asks in the catechism, “What does it mean by keeping the [Sabbath] holy?” he says, “Nothing else than to be occupied with holy words, works, and life.”

For this reason, you don’t need to approach this dirge to the grave the same way as the rest of the world.

My friends, we are in a time when it is essential to refocus and return to a proper understanding of the funeral and the procession of this life to the grave…

We don’t need paid mourners or cosmetics that hide the corpse; we don’t need to alter the Church’s ways to fit the world with celebrations of life; we need to relearn how to confess Jesus, the Lord of Life, and His love for us—poor, miserable sinners—in both life and death. 

We need to relearn how to grieve and mourn.

We need to gather around the grave with prayers, the reading of God’s Word, and hymns of comfort. We need to hear the voice of Jesus saying, “Do not weep,” and then return to church for the family meal that is the Lord’s Supper.

This is one reason for observing the festival of St. Michael and All Angels: to remember that God cares for you through His angels. But beyond today, you must also remember that God’s angels continue to care for and watch over you, even if you don’t see them. They do this not as cute cherubs shooting magical arrows of love, but as His warriors, as the Psalmist again says. 

            The angel of the LORD encamps

                        around those who fear him, and delivers them. (Psalm 34:7)

For this journey, Christ Jesus has made you companions to be a blessing to one another, for the children you desire, and for all your neighbors. But most of all, for the mutual and great joy of being led together to the Lamb’s wonderful and glorious High Feast.

The father is to teach and lead his children to wisdom, and wisdom is to understand God’s will, the truth revealed in His word.

We as a people must remember that it is Christ Jesus who leads us through the valleys and darknesses of this troubled life. This is why the Church has long used processions into and out of the Divine Service each and every week.

Recently, my congregation began podcasting sermons and other conversations around the church. I’d like to share this information with you and invite you to take a listen if it would interest you. Sermons can be heard on your favorite podcast app, so check out the “Shepherd’s Voice” and take a listen!

Remember that Christ has already taken you aside at the font and opened your ears and heart to Him, so that He might give you the words to say. Words to confess your sins. Words to confess your needs to Him in prayer. Words to ask God for friends who care for you, like those of the deaf and mute man in the Gospel, words to confess how Jesus died for you on the cross and rose again on the third day.