1.
Please pray with me. May the words
of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord,
our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word this 4th
Sunday in Advent is taken from Romans 1:1-7, and is entitled, “Fellowship
with God,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
In Advent, the Church longs for her Savior, pleading, “Oh that you
would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your
presence” (Introit).
In the Collect,
we pray that our Lord would “stir up [his] power . . . and come and help us
by [his] might.” Within our Bible Readings
for this day, we see the stage being set for us to receive the answer to these
prayers for divine deliverance to come at last. But, when the Deliverer does
come, the powerful answer is hidden in the womb of Mary and the lowliness of
the manger crib. So we see that in the Old Testament Reading,
reluctant Ahaz hears the promise of Immanuel’s virgin birth—which, as Scripture
teaches, was necessary, since the Christ had to have two natures, divine and
human. Then conflicted Joseph must hear the promise of Immanuel, God with us,
repeated in the Gospel.
Hard to believe! But, Joseph does believe, and now he must prepare his
household to receive the greatest demonstration of God’s glory: Jesus, who, in
the weakness of flesh, would “save his people from their sins” (Mt
1:21).
3.
Communion is a word with a very rich meaning. In our church, we’ve come
to use it mostly for just one thing, the Lord’s Supper, the Sacrament of the
Altar. We say things like, “Will there be Communion at the special service on
Christmas Day?” or, more practically, “We sure are having Communion a lot
now through Christmas.”
4.
In our Lutheran confession of the Christian faith, we have a number of
other important ways of using that word “communion” beyond just the
Sacrament—but tied closely to the Sacrament. We, the members of this church,
are in communion and fellowship with one another and in communion with others
who hold the same confession we do. In that sense, it means fellowship, unity,
or sharing. What’s more, by faith in Jesus, we have communion with God, that
is, a unity with him, sharing in all that he is and all that he does. The Bible
and our Lutheran confessional writings describe Jesus Christ as being one
person with two natures, a divine nature and a human nature, and those two
natures are in communion with each other. And that communion is how we have
the other communion. As the human and
divine natures of Christ commune with each other, so we, in Christ, commune and
have fellowship with God.
5.
In Christ, there are two natures in communion and fellowship with one
another. Jesus has a full human nature,
descended from David, according to the flesh (vv 1–3). Flesh in this wonderfully created world never
just appears suddenly and isolated from all others (except, maybe, in sci-fi
movies). Flesh is tied to other
flesh, rising up from the DNA in the bloodlines of that which has come before. So, we see in Jesus’ human nature the perfect
man, the pinnacle of the family tree of Adam, Abraham, David, and so on.
6.
Jesus also has a full divine nature, the eternal Son of God (vv 3–4). Jesus Christ is Immanuel, that is, God with
us (Mt 1:23). In the mystery of the
incarnation, the full glory and authority of God comes into creation. In the mystery of the Sacrament of Holy
Communion, the full glory and authority of God comes into our lives.
7.
In Jesus Christ, the focus of the Gospel, these two natures are united in
one person. Christ, who is both God and
man, was born in Bethlehem. Christ, who
is both God and man, is King, deserving of greater glory and titles than his
ancestor David. Christ, who is both God
and man, “humbled himself” (Phil 2:8) in the manger and in death on the
cross. Christ, who is both God and man,
was glorified by his resurrection from the dead and now reigns as Lord of all.
8.
In Christ’s flesh, he communes with his Church. Flesh is tied to other flesh. All human flesh shares our common humanity,
so since Christ became man, he shares it too.
This very flesh and blood of Christ we receive into our bodies in the
Sacrament of the Altar. And as the flesh
of a husband and wife become one, so when the flesh of Christ is given to us
Christians, we commune with him, we become one with him, by that flesh.
9.
How can anyone believe that Jesus has these two natures, divine and
human? Many in Jesus’ time on earth, and
now in our lifetime, would not believe that the divine is truly there, though
hidden, in his flesh. The eyes see only
the mortal and the weak. But ears hear
the Word of God, and thereby the soul is given “grace . . . to bring about
the obedience of faith” (v 5).
10.
Therefore, in the flesh of Christ, we have communion and fellowship with
God. We have been given no other access
to God and all his divine glory but through the flesh of Jesus. When you feel lonely and isolated, you may
doubt that you have any communion with him.
If you sin in thought, word, or deed, you behave as though you have no
part in Christ. But now, as Romans 1
tells you who Jesus Christ is, it also tells you who you are: “called to
belong to Jesus Christ” (v 6). That
is exactly what God declares you to be because Christ died to redeem you, to buy
you back, for God. And when God calls
it, so it is. Therefore, your calling
and identity in Christ is greater than your sins, your lonely feelings, or your
doubts about his communing with you.
11.
We are now just days away from Christmas, the celebration of our Lord and
Savior’s birth. There is no better way to celebrate a loved one’s birthday than
to be in touch with him, to hear from him, to see him. Although Christ is true
God and reigns with his Father and the Holy Spirit, beyond our reach and beyond
our sight, he has become true man so that we can be in touch with him and
commune and have fellowship with him. Again, in this holy season, we see how
the glory of the Son of God becoming man for us and for our salvation is
beautifully and wonderfully given in the Holy Communion of his body and blood.
Amen. Now the peace of God that
passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life
everlasting. Amen.
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