Isaiah 61:1–2, 10

Waiting with Joy

Sermon

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God. . . . I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (1–2, 10)

Merry Christmas! Christmas is only a week and a half away, but you can already sense the joyous anticipation building. In spite of the secularization of American culture, there is something about Christmas that remains deeply embedded in the national consciousness—something that defines us and life itself, because it involves that which is true and beautiful, that which is eternal, holy, and divine. It is difficult to imagine America without Christmas.

Merry Christmas! We say "merry" because it is a joyous time for Christians. The merriness is not simply eggnog-enhanced mirth amid family, friends, festive food, and gifts. It reflects the inexplicable felicity following a long pregnancy as mother and father hold their infant for the first time. Words cannot express the joy and wonder when one comes face-to-face with the mystery of life at the birth of a child. Christmas is about the nativity of Christ, for whose birth Mary and Joseph waited nine months and for whose birth God's people Israel had waited for centuries. "Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate Deity! Pleased as Man with man to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel!" (LSB 380:2).

It should not surprise us that the world does not embrace Christmas for what it really is. Christmas is about Jesus Christ. No one can wake up Christmas morning and avoid the questions Jesus posed to Peter: "Who do the crowds say that I am?" and "Who do you say that I am?" Peter correctly answered, "The Christ of God." What does it mean to be the Christ? Jesus went on to explain to Peter and his disciples, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected . . . killed, and on the third day be raised" (Lk 9:18, 20, 22). He means he must suffer and die to save God's people.

What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ? Amazingly, we hear the Christ, the Anointed One, himself speaking in the opening verses of Isaiah 61.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,

and the day of vengeance of our God;

to comfort all who mourn. (vv 1–2)

When Jesus preached these words in Nazareth he concluded by saying: 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing'" (Lk 4:20–21). And what was the reaction of the people in the synagogue? They drove Jesus out of town and tried to throw him off a cliff to his death. This was not the first nor the last time the Lord's Anointed would be rejected. Jesus' work of salvation ended on the cross, when the people and religious leaders killed the Savior of the world. The "Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light" (Jn 3:19).

People will tolerate and embrace a secularized "Christmas" holiday—a winter festival with lights, parties, food, presents, and decorated trees. But it will not tolerate the Christ who "gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age" (Gal 1:4). These days one can go almost anywhere in December and find Christmas decorations. Colored lights and "Christmas" trees decked in gold can be found in shopping malls in rich Arab nations and in traditionally Hindu, Buddhist, and Shinto nations. But Christ is missing from the decorations and celebrations. Even the word "Christmas" is not politically correct because it contains the word "Christ."

Ultimately, the cultural war currently waging in America and around the world comes down to the question "Who do men say that I am?" "What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary's lap is sleeping?" (LSB 370:1). The answer to this question is given by the Messiah himself. It is Jesus Christ, the same Jesus who preached to his home congregation in Nazareth, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor" (v 1) and "to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God" (vv 1–2). Jesus was anointed with the Spirit to preach the Word—the Word of vengeance and judgment, and the Word of God's favor, or grace. In Is 61, the focus is on the fact that the Anointed One is being sent to preach the Gospel, the Good News, to the poor. In one sense, the "year of the Lord's favor" refers to the first advent of Christ, when he came to bring salvation through his atoning life and death. The "day of vengeance" also refers to the Last Day, when our Lord will return to judge the living and the dead. But those who reject the salvation he offers will face an eternal judgment where, "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Mt 8:12).

Who is it that rejects the salvation he offers? It is not just those of the world, but all who are made of human flesh. This includes those who call themselves Christians, but who continue to live in willful sin. This includes those of us who deny the Christ by our own self-righteousness. Those of us who feel that we are somehow good people, pleasing to God. We who do not feel the need to cry out for mercy, because we can't even think of any sins we have committed, or at least, not any serious ones. In our hearts we feel smug, secure, and consider ourselves good people. These are perishing. But the Law of God calls us to repent.

Christ came to sinners. It was the lost that he came to find. The sick who need a physician. Christ came for sinners, not the righteous or good people. Our smug and secure feelings must vanish before the law of God, only then will the coming of the Christ, the year of the Lord's favor, be a joyous and happy time as we look to his salvation.

Until "Happy Holiday" became a lame attempt to take Christ out of Christmas, it was certainly an acceptable greeting. To say "Happy Holiday" is to say "Happy Holy Day." Our season's greetings are happy and merry because we are confessing what Isaiah and Jesus proclaimed, namely, that we are living in the "year of the Lord's favor." These are the days and years that he proclaims to us the Good News and binds up our sick and wounded hearts and frees us from the depressing captivity and darkness of sin and death. We are living in "the year of the Lord's favor" because we have been baptized into Jesus, the Christ. When we were baptized, we were released from captivity and clothed with his robe of righteousness. Paul writes, "He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Col 1:13–14). One can easily picture a wretched prisoner emerging from the darkness and stench of a dungeon after years of hopelessness and utter despair. His ragged and smelly clothes are removed. He is washed, covered with sweet-smelling and soothing oil, and then dressed in the finest apparel—the kind worn at a wedding celebration. That's us in the year of the Lord's favor.

What was said about Jesus in Isaiah is now said about us: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." St. Paul tells us, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal 3:27).

Isaiah used the imagery of a wedding feast to express the intimate and joyous relationship that the Messiah will bring about between God and his people. This has been fulfilled with the coming of Christ and the creation of his Bride, the Church, whom Christ himself has sanctified, "having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so he might present the Church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle . . . holy and without blemish" (Eph 5:26–27). The Church is none other than the Messiah's holy Bride and our worship is a joyous wedding celebration that, like Christmas, includes good food, beautiful decorations, and glorious music all wrapped in joy and gladness.

Granted, the Church retains the dual nature of being washed and cleansed saint, yet sinner. But in our Lord's eyes, the eyes of the One who really matters, she is beautiful, holy, and blameless. Thus, even now, she joyfully sings the heavenly wedding song:

Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God

the Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and exult

and give him the glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and his Bride has made herself ready;

it was granted her to clothe herself

with fine linen, bright and pure. (Rev 19:6–8)

He who was conceived by the Holy Spirit was also anointed by the Spirit to preach the Word and give his perfect life as a ransom for all. He who was anointed by the Spirit gives the same Spirit to his apostles and pastors in order to absolve sins and to make disciples through teaching and Holy Baptism, where the same Holy Spirit cleansed you from all your sins and made you a member of His holy and beautiful Bride—his Church. In place of the sin and despair, a new garden sprouts forth to bloom and grow the world over.

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,

and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,

so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise

to sprout up before all the nations. (v 11)

And that is exactly what will happen again a week and a half from today, when all over the world faithful Christians gather in joy to praise the Savior of the world.

Our Joy at This Merry Christmas

Is in Jesus, Who Is the Christ.