For You Will Answer Me: Thoughts on Psalm 17

I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer (Psalm 17:6).

 

Psalm 17 is a lament and prayer of David. In it David anticipates the joy of being in Yahweh's presence. David prays for God's help; for the defeat of his enemies, who are wicked and unfaithful, confident that God will hear and answer him.  

 

David prays for deliverance from his enemies. These are the ungodly men who do not have faith in God, nor keep His covenant. David is confident that God will answer him for three reasons: David is faithful, keeping God’s covenant; God is loving; David's enemies are ungodly and evil (v. 1-5). 

 

David prays that he has kept himself from the ways of the violent. He is free from the kinds of wicked and unjust deeds that his enemies are committing. He is inviting God to see that because of his faith, David is a good tree that bears good fruit. He isn't claiming to be without sin. David's confidence is based on his own faith that God will keep His promises, not on how good David’s own works are.

 

In reality it isn’t David who does the works he calls God to examine anyway. David say that it is by God’s word that he is blameless. David writes, “As for the deeds of men - by the word of Your lips I have kept myself from the ways of the violent” (v. 4). 

 

Paul makes this same point when he writes, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose,” (Philippians 2:12-13).

 

David knows that God's love will not allow Him to be indifferent to the suffering of His people. God is compelled by His very nature to come to the aid of His people. Indeed, God has rescued His people from our true enemies of sin and death by Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection. 

 

Then come David’s petitions. He prays that he would be protected from his wicked enemies (v. 6-9). He prays that those callous and arrogant men who seek to destroy him would themselves be destroyed. He calls on God to rise up and confront his enemies, and to save him (v. 10-14). 

 

Wicked men seem to prosper. That was as frustrating to David as it is to us today. Their end, however, is eternal punishment. While God may not strike down every enemy of His people during this present age, they will suffer eternal punishment and separation from God. They receive their reward in this age. God's people get the fullness of their reward in the age to come. 

 

God provides for the needs of His people. He directs us to seek first the kingdom of God. He gives us daily bread. He tells us not to worry about material wealth. He will make sure we have all the things necessary to support this body and life, about which the pagans spend day and night worrying about. Not only will He meet our physical needs, but the greatest blessing possible already belongs to us in Christ: forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. 

 

As with all the Psalms, it is important to consider them from the perspective of Christ. David is a picture of the promised Savior, a promise that God fulfilled in Jesus.

 

Jesus knows that God the Father will hear and answer Him when He prays for the same reasons as David. Jesus is faithful, even to suffering death on a cross, doing the will of the Father. God is love, and Jesus is the personification of that divine love. Because of that love God took on human flesh and rescued His people from our true enemies of sin and death. 

 

Jesus, who is God incarnate, came into the flesh to bear our sin. He suffered at the hands of wicked and evil men. He, who had no sin became sin for us. By His sacrifice on the cross, sinless Jesus reconciled mankind to God. So, not only is this a prayer of David, it points to what God would do for mankind in Christ. He would rise up, confront our ultimate enemies of sin, death, and the devil, and rescue His people from the wicked by His sword (v. 13).

 

This prayer will come to ultimate fulfillement when Jesus returns on the Last Day. At His coming all men will rise again with their bodies and will give an account of their own works. And they that, like David, by their faith in Christ have done good will go into life everlasting. They that have, like David’s wicked enemies by their faithlessness done evil will go into everlasting fire.

 

In the meantime, God indeed stills the hunger of those He cherishes (v. 14). He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. While we live in this fallen world He sustains us by giving us His very body and blood to eat and to drink. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we will see His face in righteousness. And when we awake we will be satisfied with seeing His likeness (v. 15).

The Advent of Advent

I know that it won't officially be Advent until Sunday, but I didn't want to wait to change the colors. Perhaps we can think of this as a couple days of "pre-advent" (LOL).  

For those of you who wonder why we've gone purple instead of blue, read this: https://hodgkinslutheran.blogspot.com/2016/11/advent-purple-and-marian-blue.html

Not Carnality but Christ

Daughter of Zion, behold thy salvation cometh. The Lord shall cause
His glorious voice to be heard and ye shall have gladness of heart.
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel: Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock.

Saturday after Populus Zion

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all (Colossians 3:1-11).

Paul continues his familiar call for Christians to live in accordance with their new nature, rather than according to their old, sinful nature. The one who has been baptized has been buried with Christ, and he has been raised with Christ through faith.[1] He is a new creation, though he will indeed fight with his flesh and its evil desires all the days of his life. Paul encourages us to seek those things which are above. We are to set our minds on things above, not the things on the earth. This is not a call for Christians to isolate themselves from the world, and live in a cave constantly chanting only prayers. No, as he writes elsewhere, we are called to deny the lusts of the flesh and walk in the Spirit, i.e. act according to our new man, since we now live in the Spirit, and those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.[2] In our baptism we died. Our life is hidden with Christ in God. In short, we are called to act like it.

We must understand, however, two things. First, this putting to death of our members is a process; it does not happen instantly upon our conversion. Paul demonstrates this when he writes, in his distress, the words of Romans, chapter seven:

I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.[3]

Second, our justification comes first, and then our sanctification. That is just a fancy way of saying that God saves us by grace, through faith in Christ first, and then we work to deny the desires of our flesh. We do not try to do good, to clean ourselves up, to make ourselves holy so that we are acceptable to God, and He then saves us. We must pay attention to the order of things. Paul tells the Colossians to put off anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language, lying, and the entire “old man with his deeds,” after he declares to them that they are raised with Christ. He does not tell them to put off these things to become raised with Christ, for it is by grace you are saved, through faith, so that no man can boast.[4]

It is because of these deeds, Paul says, that God’s wrath will be poured out on the earth, on the sons of disobedience. We are no longer son of disobedience, though we once walked according to the course of this world as they did. Since we are a new creation in Christ, we ought to act like it. Peter writes:

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?[5]

We ought to be the kind of people who repent of our sin; who strive to put to death our old man; who seek to love and serve our neighbor; who walk carefully, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.[6] This is the purpose of Advent: that we may prepare ourselves for Christ’s return, waiting, ready for Him, with girded waist and burning lamp.[7] Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching.[8]

---

[1] Colossians 2:12

[2] Galatians 5:16-17, 24-25

[3] Romans 7:21-23

[4] Ephesians 2:1-10

[5] 2 Peter 3:10-12

[6] Ephesians 5:15-16

[7] Luke 12:35

[8] Luke 12:37

Good Works and Light Bearers

December 12, 2019 - Thursday after Populus Zion

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me (Philippians 2:12-18).

It is tempting to take Paul’s words here, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” and make them say something which they do not. If the passage stopped at that point, we could hardly be faulted for thinking that Paul was instructing the Philippians, and us, to do good works to merit our salvation. He commends them for having always obeyed, and he continues on by telling them to keep obeying, and to work out their salvation. Perhaps whomever said that Noah was saved, not by grace, but rather by obedience, had a point.

But the passage does not stop there. Paul continues on to reveal just who it is who is doing the work: “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Paul is indeed calling the Philippians, and all Christians, to do good works; but, he immediately explains that it is not actually we who are doing the works. It is God. In fact, we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.[1] God has made us into good-works-producing machines; He has created the good works for us to do. He calls us now to walk in those good works, i.e. to produce them, not unlike a tree produces fruit. The tree can’t help producing the fruit, it is the tree’s nature to do so, because of how it has been created. We should not make the mistake of thinking that the works we do are accomplished because of us. The works are God’s works. As a new creation in Christ, it is our nature to produce good fruit.

This is why Paul wants us to do all things without complaining or grumbling. God is doing the work. He is the catalyst that causes us “to will”, i.e. to want to do good works, and “to do”, to actually carry them out. In that situation, how could anyone other than God claim credit or responsibility for any of the good works that we do? This is the mistake Sacramentarians[2] make with the Sacraments of Holy Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. They call them works, which indeed they are. And, they say, since we are saved by grace through faith in Christ, and not by works, as Paul writes to the Ephesians, those sacraments are nothing more than symbols of God’s promises, and acts of obedience by which we demonstrate to God our faith. If the Sacraments were our works, this would be true. They are not. They are God’s works; they are sacred acts, instituted by God, in which God has joined His Word of promise to a visible element (e.g., water, bread and wine), and by which He offers, gives, and seals the forgiveness of sins by Christ.[3]

In Baptism, it is the Triune God who washes away sins; it is God the Holy Spirit who works faith in the heart by water and the Word; and it is with Christ’s own righteousness we are clothed, and to His death and resurrection we are joined, even though it is a man who applies the water to us. When we eat the Lord’s Supper, we are not simply acting out a memorial play to demonstrate our obedience to Christ and proclaim His death (though that is certainly part of what is happening); in the Lord’s Supper we receive the very body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ to eat and to drink for the forgiveness of our sins: “For My flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.”[4] Who is the one who is active, who is doing all the work in the Sacraments, man or God? If we are honest with ourselves, and we let Scripture speak for itself, the answer is obvious.

And when we walk in these works, prepared beforehand by God for us to walk in, we shine as lights in the world. Paul here echoes Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”[5] The amazing thing is, that God has created us in Christ for these works, to be lights in the world in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Paul is encouraging us to act according to the new creation we have been made in Christ, rather than according to the sinful desires of our flesh. He is basically telling us not to be a tree that tries to produce bad fruit. And, if we resist the desires of our old sinful nature, our Old Man, we effectively drown him in the waters of our baptism, and we will shine brighter amidst the darkness of this crooked and perverse generation.

[1] Ephesians 2:10

[2] Sacramentarian: One who holds the sacraments to be simply symbols; a name given to Zwinglians and Calvinists. Webster's Collegiate Dictionary . Third Edition of the Merriam Series. The Largest Abridgment of Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language. 1700 Illustrations. Published by G. and C. Merriam, 1919.

[3] Luther, Martin. Luther's Small Catechism: with Explanation. Concordia Publishing House, 2005.

[4] John 6:55-57

[5] Matthew 5:14-16

Reconciled in Christ

December 4, 2019 - Wednesday after Ad Te Levavi

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister (Colossians 1:19-23).

One of Paul’s purposes in writing here is to emphasize that Christ is first and foremost in everything because He is God in human flesh. He wants the Colossians to be rooted in Christ, the head of the body, the church, rather than in hollow and deceptive philosophy. Based on the focus of his letter, Paul may have been aware that the Colossians were struggling with false teachers, who were denying the deity of Christ, and teaching the Colossians to trust in their own works and minds as a means of making a right relationship with God. Paul, however, continues to proclaim the Gospel he always proclaimed: that mankind is reconciled to the Father by Christ’s sacrifice, through His blood shed on the cross, and that Christ gives this gift of reconciliation to us individually by creating faith in us through the Word - the hope of the gospel which we heard preached.

He writes, “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.” That is, God the Father wanted Jesus to be both 100% a human being, and 100% divine, God in human flesh, no mere created being or demi-god. Nothing short of the substitutionary death of God could atone for the sin of mankind.

And it isn’t only mankind who needed saving from sin, death, and the devil. The entire creation was placed under the curse because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve. The blood of Christ atones for our sin, and by it, all of creation is restored to friendship and harmony with God. This peace which Christ has made with us through the blood of His cross will only be fully realized on the Last Day. He has reconciled the world, that is, all creation, by His death and resurrection; make no mistake, that also includes the Christians in Colossae, you, and me, as individuals - all who were baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, washed clean of sin by Water and the Word.

The thing that actually does the reconciling is the actual death of an actual Jesus, who is actually God in human flesh, as the actual propitiatory sacrifice for sin. Paul does not mean this in some figurative sense. Christ presents us holy by cleansing us, as Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “with the washing of water by the word.” It is this way that baptism, as Peter says, saves us: by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This water, in Holy Baptism, is bound and connected to the promise of forgiveness and life by Jesus Himself. It is a way He has ensured that all people, old or young, simple or educated, can receive His Word and promise. He binds the promise to a physical element, water. This should not surprise us, since God has a history of connecting His promises to physical things, such as when by God’s promise the ordinary water of the Jordan River had the power to cure Naaman of leprosy.[1]

Moreover, Paul warns that this gracious gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation can be lost, if one does not remain firmly fixed in place on the basis for our faith, which is the Gospel: Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, He was buried, and rose again on the third day for our justification, according to the scriptures; that He ascended into Heaven, and will come again in glory, to judge the living and the dead, something which could happen at any time. There is no prophecy left to fulfill which is holding Jesus back. God the Father has appointed the day, and He alone knows it. Everything has been done that was to be done, including the preaching of the Gospel to all nations before the end, which Paul confirms when he writes, “...which [the Gospel] has come to you, as it has also in all the world…” and also here in this verse, “...which was preached to every creature under heaven…”

He comes to judge the nations,

A terror to His foes,

A Light of consolations

And blessed Hope to those

Who love the Lord’s appearing. 

O glorious Sun, now come,

Send forth Thy beams most cheering, 

And guide us safely home.[2]

[1] 2 Kings 5:1-27

[2] Hymn 58, “O Lord, How Shall I Meet Thee”, The Lutheran Hymnal, stanza 9. Author: Paul Gerhardt. Translation: Composite.

Christ Brings Division

I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! (Luke 12:49)

Read Luke 12:49-53 here.

The Jesus speaking to Peter in this verse bears little resemblance to the Jesus familiar to popular culture. This is not Hallmark Jesus. This is the Jesus who called the Pharisees vipers and blind guides, who overturned the tables of the move changers and drove them out of the temple with a whip. What does He mean by this? Jesus appears to be saying something quite different to Peter here than the angels said to those shepherds in the fields, who were watching their flocks on the night Jesus was born. These words are shocking, even frightening, especially when you consider their source. Jesus, God with us in human flesh,[1] the image of the invisible God through whom all things were created,[2] says that He is eager to burn the world with fire. Kyrie Eleison! These words call to mind judgment. They bring to mind Peter’s description of the Day of the Lord: But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat: both the earth and the works that are in them will be burned up.[3] They remind us of John the Baptist, as he baptized people in the wilderness, pointing those whom he baptized toward the coming Christ, saying: I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.[4]

But it isn’t just that Jesus wants to destroy the earth. If God wanted to destroy the earth and mankind, He could have done that immediately after the Fall and started over from scratch.[5] But He didn’t do that; He wanted to redeem His creation instead of throwing it in the garbage. In this verse, Jesus is expressing His eagerness to fulfill the divine plan of redemption He was sent to complete by God the Father. That plan includes fire: Fire on the Last Day, at the Second Advent of Jesus, burning up the elements to make way for a new heavens and a new earth; a lake of fire into which the defeated devil, along with all his angels, will be thrown to be punished for eternity.

But, before there can be a Second Advent, there must be a first one. Therefore, the plan included the telling of the good news that a savior would come to crush the head of the serpent who deceived Eve. The plan included God cultivating a nation out of whom this promised savior of mankind should come; planting them in their own land to flourish; pruning back the diseased branches so that it could grow and thrive. And it ultimately included God taking on human flesh, becoming a man, in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary; being crucified as the ransom for many, rising from the dead, and ascending back to His heavenly throne. This is the thing which Jesus refers when he says that He came to send fire on the earth, and He wishes it were already kindled.

Jesus is not eager for our destruction, like some bloodthirsty general laying siege to a fortified city. He wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.[6] This is the reason His second coming is, from our perspective, delayed. It means forgiveness, and faith, and life everlasting for more people.[7] Make no mistake; the One who made the promise is faithful. Christ is coming soon. For those who are connected to Christ, to His death and resurrection through baptism, Christ’s Second Advent is not a thing to be feared. It is something to be eagerly anticipated: For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.[8]

---

[1] Matthew 1:23

[2] Colossians 1:15-16

[3] 2 Peter 3:10

[4] Matthew 3:11

[5] Genesis 3

[6] 1 Timothy 2:4

[7] 2 Peter 3:7-9

[8] Philippians 3:20-21

Real History

Gabriel Visits Zacharias

Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people” (Luke 1:1-25).

Luke the Evangelist, the Greek physician, is responsible for nearly one quarter of the text of the New Testament. He tells us in the first lines of the text why. His purpose is to record an “orderly account” of the things that happened for the most excellent Theophilus. Whether this Theophilus is a real person, or he is a construct of the author to represent Christians is, in the end immaterial. Luke, by his meticulous attention to detail proves himself to be an able and detail-oriented historian. This is no fairy tale which took place ambiguously “once upon a time” in some fantasy land. Luke wanted Theophilus to know that the events being recounted were real. They happened in Bethlehem, in Judea, during the time of Caesar Augustus, while Quirinius was the governor of Syria. Real history. A real savior, come to earth to save real sinners, and destroy sin, death, and the devil once and for all.

The first thing Luke recounts to Theophilus is the birth of John the Baptist. Called John the Forerunner by the eastern churches, and John the Baptizer by the more self-conscious Lutherans, he is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send Elijah to prepare the Messiah’s way. Luke quotes from the following passage of Malachi: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”[1] John the Baptist is at his work, even before his birth. He prepares the way for Jesus. His purpose is to acknowledge Christ. The angel Gabriel tells Zacharias this will be John’s work. John begins it while he is still in Elizabeth’s womb, when he leaped upon hearing the greeting of Mary, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.[2] He continues his work of directing people to Jesus the Christ when he preaches repentance in the wilderness,[3] when Jesus comes to be baptized,[4] and when John’s disciples are indignant that their following is becoming smaller.[5] John, however, continually exalts Christ. John knows that he must decrease, and Christ must increase. The prophet Isaiah, speaking of this says, “Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”[6] Even now, in the pages of Holy Scripture, John the Baptist continues his work. He bids us prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord through repentance, and to fix our eyes upon Him, Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.[7]

---

[1] Malachi 4:5-6

[2] Luke 1:39-41

[3] Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:3-8; Luke 3:2-17

[4] Matthew 3:13-17

[5] John 3:22-36

[6] Isaiah 9:7

[7] Hebrews 12:1-3

Advent Purple and Marian Blue

Our Lady of the Sign Icon

Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’” So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”(Matthew 21:1-9).

Growing up at Immanuel – Hodgkins, the color for the season of Advent was purple. That was just the way things were, and I never gave it a second thought. Alternatives listed in the calendar printed in Lutheran Worship notwithstanding, it wasn’t until I left Immanuel that I even realized there was another color designated for Advent. Blue paraments at my next two parishes seemed to me jarringly out of place as we looked forward to Christmas. When I asked why blue was preferred instead of purple, answers varied as they often do among Lutheran clergymen.

Purple is somber and penitential; it is appropriate only during Lent. Blue is the color of hope; Advent is the season during which we look hopefully toward the coming/return of Our Lord and Savior. Blue is the color of the pre-dawn sky. Just as the color of the sky heralds the return of the light of the sun, it was explained, so the color of the church heralds the coming/return of the true light of the world (That is way to artsy and emotional for my taste…gag!). And, possibly, the most frustrating explanation of all: Rome uses purple for Advent; It’s too Catholic.

Advent is indeed a time of expectant waiting for Christ. The Church teaches that Christ comes in three ways: 1) His incarnation, 2) His spiritual coming in the hearts of believers and his constant presence in the gathered assembly of the Church, 3) His return to judgment on the Last Day (Lueker 1984). With those things in mind, I certainly understand the expectant, hopeful character of Advent. Why the color blue is associated with the concept of hope eludes me though. Advent is also penitential, and we shouldn’t forget that. We are preparing for the coming of the Savior, both in the sense of celebrating his birth at Christmas, and looking forward to his second coming on the Last Day. I can think of no better way to prepare for Christ’s coming/return than to follow the direction of John the Baptist, the one who prepared the way for him, and to repent.

For those who think purple for Advent is “too Catholic,” consider this: blue is the color traditionally associated with the Virgin Mary, though white is the prescribed Marian color in Roman liturgical practice (Penkala 2000). That’s pretty Catholic, if you ask me. Though she has no “official” color, in Byzantine iconography Mary is often portrayed in blue, along with red. This practice was adopted in the west and seems to be where we get imagery of the darkness of night giving way to the dawn:

Yet the mandorla[1] of the Mother of God differs from that of the Saviour both in colour and in the absence of gold work. Bluish-green, with pink round the edge passing into red, it seems to be a visual expression of the words of the akathiston to the Mother of God, in which She is sung as “the fiery chariot of the Word”… “The brightest morning…bearing the sun-Christ,” and so forth. The symbolism of the combination of those colours evidently corresponds to the darkness of the night of sin and ignorance and the dawn of the coming day of the restitution of the world. This emphasizes the cosmic significance of the Mother of God and her role in the restitution, for She has “renewed the whole world in her womb” (Ouspensky and Lossky 1982).

The blue pigment used in painting in centuries past was derived from the rock lapis lazuli, a stone imported from Afghanistan of greater value than gold. In Medieval and Renaissance Europe, an artist’s patron was expected to purchase any gold or lapis lazuli to be used in the painting (Marian Colours and Religious Art 2014). Hence, it was an expression of devotion and glorification to swathe the Virgin in gowns of blue. Transformations in visual depictions of the Virgin from the 13th to 15th centuries mirror her "social" standing within the Church as well as in society (Marian Blue 2016).

I like to argue about things such as the appropriate color for Advent with tongue planted firmly in cheek. In reality, it matters little what color the paraments are, so long as we remember the purpose of Advent: to focus our attention on Christ and to prepare us for his coming. Advent begins the church year because the church year begins where Jesus' earthly life began — in the Old Testament prophecies of his incarnation (Frequently Asked Questions: Worship and Congregational Life n.d.).

Whatever color adorns the altar this First Sunday in Advent, blue or purple, our prayer is the same[2]: Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy power, O Lord, and come, that by Thy protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Thy mighty deliverance; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Works Cited

"Frequently Asked Questions: Worship and Congregational Life." The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. http://www.lcms.org/faqs/worship (accessed November 27, 2016).

Lueker, Erwin L., ed. Lutheran Cyclopedia: A Concise In-Home Reference for the Christian Family. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1984.

"Marian Blue." Wikipedia. August 23, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_blue (accessed November 27, 2016).

"Marian Colours and Religious Art." Churchmouse Campanologist. January 3, 2014. https://churchmousec.wordpress.com/2014/01/03/marian-colours-and-religious-art/ (accessed November 27, 2016).

Ouspensky, Leonid, and Vladimir Lossky. The Meaning of Icons. New York: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1982.

Penkala, Gary D. "The Advent Blues." CanticaNOVA Publications: Traditional Music...for the Contemporary Church. December 2000. http://www.canticanova.com/articles/xmas/art1c1.htm (accessed November 27, 2016).

---

[1] Mandorla: A pointed oval figure used as an architectural feature and as an aureole enclosing figures such as Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary in medieval art.

[2] Some have exchanged “Thee” and “Thy” for “You” and “Yours,” a heresy which we will address at some other time.

Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee” (Matthew 21:1-11).

There is a children's song sometimes used to teach Kindergartners about Advent. The children are supposed to learn the words, "Advent is the time of waiting, waiting/Advent is the time we wait for him; Advent is the time of waiting/We also have to wait for...." The children are supposed to then say something that they have to wait for. The answers I tend to get are things like "lunch" and "cupcakes". Advent, however is much more than simply a time of waiting for something trivial like a snack. It is certainly a time of waiting, but it is also a time of preparation - preparation to celebrate Jesus' first coming at Christmas, as well as his second coming at the end of the age. The word Advent comes from the Latin "adventus", which means "coming".

The text from Matthew 21 culminates with Jesus coming to Jerusalem. Jesus and his disciples begin going up to Jerusalem in Matthew 20. This is after the large crowds had followed him into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan River from Galilee[1]. The crowds had been healed and had witnessed miracles. Jesus taught them and his disciples through parables. The Pharisees disputed with him and, most significantly, Jesus had told his disciples exactly why they were going to Jerusalem:

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed (Matthew 17:22).

Jesus was going up to Jerusalem to die. He and his disciples had gone up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, and for other feasts, before. This time, however, Jesus was going to die. He told his disciples this and they didn't understand. They didn't understand that Jesus was the true Passover lamb for whom they had been waiting[2], and that all the Passover lambs they had eaten during their lives were shadows of Jesus[3]. They didn't yet understand that Jesus was the propitiation for their sins, and the sins of the whole world[4], foretold by the prophets of old. They didn't understand that Jesus, who was true God in human flesh, would be that propitiation for sin by dying a horrible death hanging on a Roman cross, and that he would defeat sin, death, and the devil once and for all by his resurrection from the dead[5]. They understood that they were going to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, as they had done before, but they did not understand that they had brought with them the true Passover lamb, for which the faithful had waited since man had been cast out of the Garden of Eden.

Matthew explains to us why the donkey is significant; it fulfills Old Testament prophecy. Zechariah wrote:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).

The coming king of Zion would not enter his city as the triumphant conqueror. He would not be clad in armor, seated atop a strong and noble steed, with a mighty army at his back. Zechariah wrote that the coming king, the Messiah, who would speak peace to the nations, who would rule from sea to sea, who would set the captives free because of the blood of his covenant and save his people, would be humble and would come to his people riding on a humble donkey.

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem claims an authority that the people of that time and place would have quickly recognized. By entering Jerusalem in this way, Jesus was recreating the kind of royal inauguration experienced by Solomon, also David’s son and king of Israel. Jesus was, by his actions here, announcing that he, the King of Israel, had arrived in Jerusalem. The crowds that were with him hailed him in the appropriate manner. Kretzmann writes the following about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as told by Matthew:

But the climax of the exultation was reached at the summit of the Mount of Olives. Here the ranks of the early singers were swelled by great crowds of newcomers, and while the latter turned and marched ahead, the others followed behind the Lord. And in antiphonal shouting the joyous acclaim of the people rose up to heaven as they chanted sections from the great Hallel, with the doxology used on great festivals, Ps. 118, 25. 26. They openly proclaim Him as the Son of David, as the true Messiah, they wish Him blessing and salvation from above. Far and wide, the people joined in this demonstration in honor of the lowly Nazarene (Kretzmann, 1921).

Hosanna means “help” or “save”; a plea for divine help or deliverance, found frequently in Psalms 113 – 118, that became a general acclimation (Engelbrecht, 2009). The crowds hailed Jesus as savior and king, and the Pharisees became worried that the world was going after him[6]. Unfortunately the people, like the Pharisees and even the disciples, were expecting a political savior who would establish the nation of Israel in the physical world by force, delivering them from the tyranny of the enemies around them such as Rome. This praise Jesus received from the fickle crowds would vanish. They would come to realize, as Jesus told Pilate, that his kingdom was not of this world[7], and that the prison from which he was going to free the captives would be that of sin and death, not worldly strife and hardship[8]. As Jesus entered Jerusalem, they did not understand that the blood of the covenant by which the King would save his people[9] would not be that of some sacrificed animal, but it would be Jesus’ own blood shed on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.

This Advent we prepare to celebrate the humble arrival of the Christ at Christmas, who took on human flesh and dwelt among his creation. This he did not by some spectacularly glorious process befitting the Almighty Creator of all things, but by being born of a virgin in a cattle shed. He would not be draped in royal purple and surrounded by servants, but would be lying in straw and worshiped by unclean shepherds. This seems to be how Jesus operates. He comes to his people in the time, place, and manner which he chooses, not in the ways we think he should. During this Advent we remember that this is the case not only with his coming to earth as a babe lying in a manger, or with Jesus coming to his people, entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey. We must also keep this in mind as we look forward to his coming as supreme judge of the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end:

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen…When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats…For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil (Revelation 1:7; Matthew 25:31-32; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

As we anticipate and prepare for Jesus' second coming, we can take comfort knowing that he has not left us alone as we wait. He comes to us in bread and wine in the Lord's Supper. He comes to us in water and word in Baptism. He comes to us where two or three are gathered in his name around these gifts of Word and Sacrament, the pledges he has given us, his means of coming to us, creating faith in us, and sustaining us during this time of waiting. We may not know the day or the hour of his second coming, or how it will appear to us as it happens. Still, we wait, as did the faithful of old. Even so, we who believe in him and have thus through faith been justified by his blood on the cross say Lord Jesus, quickly come![10]

Works Cited

Engelbrecht, R. E. (Ed.). (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

Kretzmann, P. E. (1921). Popular Commentary of the Bible: New Testament (Vol. 1). St. Louis, MO, USA: Concordia Publishing House.

End Notes

[1] Matthew 19:1-2

[2] John 1:29-34

[3] Hebrews 8:1-7

[4] 1 John 2:1-3

[5] Philippians 2:4-11

[6] John 12:19

[7] John 18:36

[8] Isaiah 61

[9] Zechariah 9:11

[10] Romans 3:21-26; Hebrews 10:19-25; Revelation 1:4-8