December 2, 2009 * Midweek Advent I * Pastor Pagels
In the name of the One who was and who is and who is to come, dear friends:
Like many Christians, perhaps like many of you too, the foundation of my faith was laid in the home. My dad is a pastor, and until she retired last year my mom was a Lutheran elementary school teacher. Both of them played important roles in my spiritual formation.
Coming in a close second to my parents was the Christian
education I received at St. Peter’s
We had daily devotions and weekly chapel services. We studied Luther’s Small Catechism and Bible History lessons (today it’s called Christ Light). From Monday through Thursday the first subject of the day was religion, and the textbook was the Bible. Fridays were a little different. On Friday mornings we pulled our hymnals out of our desks for hymnology class.
With a name like that, hymnology might sound like a seminary level course. It wasn’t. The teacher simply asked the students to open our hymnals to a certain hymn, and for the next twenty minutes or so we studied it verse by verse. The teacher took us through each line, explaining confusing phrases and making applications to our lives. What I remember about hymnology is that it was very simple. It was very helpful. And after all these years I kind of miss it.
So I thought that for our midweek Advent devotions this year we could go back in time. This Wednesday and next I would like us to get back into our hymnals for a little hymnology class of our own. And today I encourage you to open up a hymnal and follow along as we take a closer look at the Advent hymn we just sang (CW 15)…
HARK! A THRILLING VOICE IS SOUNDING
“Hark!” There are actually five hymns in our hymnal that begin with this word of exclamation, and we will sing one of them right after this sermon. The word isn't used much these days, but I think we have a pretty good idea of what it means. “Hark! Behold! Look! Listen! Listen because someone has something very important to say.
In this case the hymn writer has chosen not to reveal the identity of the speaker. It is simply “a voice.” Actually we are told that “a thrilling voice is sounding,” and “Christ is near” is what we hear it say. Who fits this description? Who proclaimed the message that “Christ is near?” And who proclaimed that message with excitement and urgency?
If you don’t know, or if you aren’t sure, the last two lines
of the opening verse might help you with the answer. The voice goes on to say: “Cast away the deeds of darkness; You are
children of the day.” The man who gave
this command is the same man who declared: “Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2). The man who pointed out people’s sins is
the man who also pointed them to their Savior.
His message can be summarized in three words, “Jesus is coming,” and his
name can be summarized in three words as well, “John the Baptist.”
Seven hundred years before John was born the prophet Isaiah wrote about the important work he would do: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him’” (Matthew 3:3). John prepared people for the coming of the Messiah. John told the people to prepare for Jesus’ arrival by casting away the deeds of darkness (in other words, by repenting of their sins). And if we listen closely, we can still hear John's voice today.
It's no coincidence that before we started using these beautiful blue altar cloths, the color of Advent was purple, which also the color of Lent, which is also a season of repentance. Throughout the Advent season John's message rings loud and clear: “Repent! Repent of your sins. Get rid of your deeds of darkness. And then rejoice in the forgiveness the Savior will bring.”
That Savior and his saving work are described in the second verse: "Lo, the Lamb, so long expected, Comes with pardon down from heav'n." When the poet penned these words, why do you think he chose to describe Jesus as a lamb? How could have said: "Lo, the Savior, long expected" or "Lo, the Christ, so long expected" or "Lo, God's Son, so long expected." The author specifically chose to describe the coming Messiah as "the Lamb." Why?
Recall that the lamb was the animal the Israelites
sacrificed on the night of the Passover.
The blood of a lamb was painted on the doorposts of Jewish homes in
As the son of a priest John the Baptist had been raised in a
home that celebrated the Passover. He
knew the history. He understood the
symbolism. And so it was no accident, no
mere coincidence, when John pointed in the direction of Jesus and hailed him as
"the Lamb of God, who takes away
the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
This long expected Lamb "comes with pardon down from heav'n. Yes, Jesus came to preach and teach. Yes, Jesus came to cure and heal. He did all those things and more when he lived on this earth, but the reason Jesus left his throne in heaven, the reason he left himself open to scorn and shame and ridicule, the reason an innocent man allowed himself to die a criminal's death, was to pardon sin.
And according to the hymn writer, this amazing truth calls for an immediate response: "Let us haste, with tears of sorrow, One and all, to be forgiv'n." It isn't necessary for you to cry during the confession of sins to prove that you are truly penitent. I have seen people come to communion with tears in their eyes before, but that is not a prerequisite for receiving the benefits of the sacrament.
Tears can be faked. Emotions can be manipulated, but emotions can also be an outward sign of what's going on on the inside. Can you remember a time when you disappointed someone you love? How did it make you feel knowing that you let that person down? Was your stomach tied up in knots? Did a lump form in the back of your throat? Did it take everything in your power not to burst into tears?
As tough as that can be, now imagine that the One you have let down is God. That's what we do every time we sin. We not only break the law. We break faith with God. We break our promises to be faithful to God. With every sin we commit, we disappoint our heavenly Father.
And that should make us sad. That might even make us cry. As we fight through those tears of sorrow and regret, as we wonder to ourselves: "Can God possibly forgive me? Will God forgive me...again?" our swollen eyes see the Lamb. We see the blood. We see the cross. And we have our answer: "Yes, my child,” God says. “I love you. I forgive you. And I will come for you."
This second coming of Jesus is the subject of the next verse:
"That, when next he comes with
glory And the world is wrapped in fear, He may shield us with his mercy, And
with words of love draw near."
"He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead." We believe that. We say that we believe that every time we confess the Nicene Creed. On the Last Day Jesus will come down in all his glory. We can't imagine that, but we look forward to it. We can't wait for it because that's the day when Jesus will share his glory with us.
But not everyone sees the Last Day the way we do. Not everyone is eager for Jesus to return, and not everyone will be happy when he does. When the Lord comes back the world will be wrapped in fear, terrified to stand before the Judge of all mankind, unable to move because there will be no place to hide, unable to speak because there will be nothing to say. For many people, for the majority of people, Judgment Day will be a day of death and destruction and fire.
But in the midst of all the chaos you will be safe. You will be protected. The hymn puts it so beautifully. You will be shielded by God's mercy. The only sound you will hear is your Savior's
loving voice. The only words you will hear
are the words of God's gracious invitation: Come! Come,
you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared
for you since the creation of the world" (Matthew 25:34).
As a redeemed child of God, your sins are forgiven. Praise the Lord! As a citizen of God's kingdom, your future is
secure. Praise the Lord! As soon as Jesus returns he will take you to
live with him forever. Praise the Lord! Because you and I have so many reasons to be
thankful, because you and I have so many reasons to praise God, it is only
fitting that our hymn ends with a doxology, a song of praise: "Honor, glory, might, dominion To the
Father and the Son With the everlasting Spirit While eternal ages run."
At the very bottom of the page in very fine print you will find more some information about the hymn, or in this case you will discover that we don't know very much about the origins of "Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding." We aren't sure when it was written (perhaps as early as the sixth century), and we don't know who wrote it either.
Since no author is listed, might I suggest that you mentally insert your own name at the bottom of the page. Not because you want to take credit for the words, but because you believe them, because Advent is the perfect time for each of us to make the words of this ancient hymn our own. Christ is near. The Lamb is coming. We can't wait. Praise the Lord! Amen.