Second Sunday after Christmas - Text of Sermon and video
Second Sunday after Christmas
Ephesians 1:3-14
Luke 2:40-52
For Us!
O Lord, your Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
When I was in seminary, we were taught a few Latin phrases to help get into our heads what God is doing in our world and why. One of those phrases kept coming back to me as I reflected on today’s Gospel reading. The phrase is “pro nobis.” Pro nobis translates into English as “for us.” Martin Luther, his peers in Wittenberg, and subsequent Lutheran theologians have used that phrase effectively to keep before us what God is doing in this world through Jesus Christ and why. The phrase “for us” also serves to remind us that our salvation is not our work. Our salvation is God’s work. We do not save ourselves. God saves us. God saves us by acting for us and upon us.
Christmas is a beautiful time to be in the church. We have extra art work and decorations. The Nativity scenes, inside and outside, warm our hearts. The additional illumination of the Christmas tree lights, candles, and other adornments, push back against the crushing gloom of long days of clouds and longer periods of darkness. At the heart of the Christmas message is that God comes down to us. If we leave the description there, we miss out on the most important part. Yes, God comes down to us; but he does so for a specific reason. In order for us to grasp the significance that God is incarnate in Jesus, that he is born of the virgin Mary, and that He is the WORD made flesh, we have to include those two essential words: Pro Nobis. For us. Jesus is born for us.
When we come to Holy Week and contemplate the crucifixion of our Lord, we will never grasp the significance of the innocent Jesus being nailed upon the cross unless we understand that Jesus is sacrificed on the cross “pro nobis,” for us. Jesus death on the cross is not a historical accident. Jesus was not killed because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time saying the wrong thing. No, Jesus dies on the cross, pro nobis, for us.
The same with the resurrection. Jesus rises on the third day from the dead, not because He can, not because he is playing peek a boo with the disciples. No, Jesus rises on the third day, pro nobis, for us. He conquers death through His resurrection. His resurrection is our resurrection when we are baptized. Jesus rises to show us that in Him we have eternal life.
Today’s gospel is about obedience. Jesus is obedient to his parents. He has the good fortune of being raised in a pious family. They observe the customs and expectations of the Mosaic Law. Every male was required by the Law to go to present himself to the Lord every Passover. So, his family, and, apparently, the extended family, and the rest of the neighborhood, went to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice, to pray, and to observe the Passover festival. (Exodus 23:14-17; Deuteronomy 16:16) While in Jerusalem in his twelfth year, he was caught up in the blessed task and joy of learning. He missed the proverbial bus back home. We are told in verse 51 that Jesus immediately went with his parents back to Nazareth. “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.” Jesus continued to learn and to grow in wisdom.
Why this attention to Jesus’ obedience to his parents and to God’s law? Because of “pro nobis.” He is obedient “for us.” I trust that all of us here do our level best at being obedient to those who are over us and those who love us. Yet, despite our best efforts, we fall short. Can any of us truly say with a straight face that we do not need to confess our sins at the beginning of the Divine Service? Do you reasonably expect that you will ever outgrow the need to say both privately and in the company of your fellow servants, “Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, and by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.” Jesus is obedient to his parents and the rest of the law because as the God-Man He alone can truly be completely obedient. Just as he is born for us, dies for us, rises from the dead for us, he is also obedient for us. He is obedient for us and for our salvation. Only the perfect Son can truly save us.
In faith, we receive the Lord’s promise to us. He is here on earth “for us.” He is here to do for us what we simply cannot do. Today, we receive the good news of Christ’s obedience and know that it is for us.
Jesus’ work for us is not complete. As we participate in Holy Communion, we are assured that Christ Jesus continues to be for us. He is in the consecrated bread and wine. He is given to us so that we receive Him and we receive His forgiveness. Communion is when Pro Nobis becomes deeply personal. For he is given to you, for you. “The true body of Christ, given for you, the true blood of Christ, shed for you.” For you. For your forgiveness. For the strengthening of your faith. For the deepening of the hope that dwells within you because of Christ. For your salvation. He is “for you.”
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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