1.
Please pray
with me. May the words of my mouth and
the meditation or our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and
our Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word this Christmas
Day is entitled, “O Come, Dayspring,” and
it’s taken from Isaiah 9:2, dear brothers
and sisters in Christ.
2.
Have you ever
asked an older person what he wanted for Christmas only to have him tell you, “Don’t get me anything. I have everything I
need”? If you’re a child that statement could really puzzle you. How could someone not want anything for
Christmas? Look at this way… If you have
the love of family and friends, along with food, clothing, shelter, clean water,
soap, heat, and light, you really have everything you need. Well, almost everything. We need God in our
lives. You can have lightbulbs burning in every room of your house, but it’s
not like having the sun come up in the morning. You still want the real light
of day. What’s more serious, you can have a glorious sunrise, a sunny day, and
still walk in spiritual darkness. You can have a roof over your head, clothes,
and food in the fridge, and still be afraid of death. Without God’s sunrise in
our lives, his Son, Jesus, the darkness can be frightening.
3.
An elder from
another church was counseling a member of his congregation. She told him about
her grown son and his wife. “All they do
is watch TV,” she said. “They don’t
talk to each other. They never eat meals together at the table. They don’t know
where the other one is half the time, and they don’t care. They don’t pray or
read the Bible. They never go to church. And they’re so depressed.” “They really need Christ, don’t they?”
the elder replied. He was right. That family really needs what we pray for in
today’s stanza from “O Come, O Come,
Emmanuel.” “O come, Thou Dayspring
from on high,” we pray, “And cheer us
by Thy drawing nigh.” Thou Light of Day, Thou Rising Sun, come! Isn’t that
what you and I need at Christmas—Jesus, the Sunrise from God who casts out our
darkness? Yes! Come, Jesus, Dayspring
from on high, and cheer us. When our
prayer is answered and Jesus comes to us in his Word and Sacraments, all the
dark things that depress us are shined away.
4.
This is what
the priest Zechariah was talking about when the birth of his son, John the
Baptist, signaled the birth of Jesus, the Christmas Child: “Through the tender mercy of our God . . .
the Dayspring from on high has visited us” (Lk 1:78 NKJV). Zechariah was
recalling the words of the last Old Testament prophet, Malachi: “For you who fear my name, the sun of
righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings” (Mal 4:2). Think about the trouble of God’s people in
the later centuries of the Old Testament. Think about the verses from Isaiah we
read at Christmas: “The people who walked
in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep
darkness, on them has light shined” (Is 9:2). Isaiah’s words shine for all
who live in fear of their enemies. Isaiah is describing Israel after the
Assyrians destroy the land. A few survivors struggle to hang on. The northern kingdom
is ruined. The people there live in the
darkness of despair. But, when all hope seems lost, God’s promise comes. A Light
will dawn upon them! It’s so certain it’s even described in past tense. They “have
seen a great light,” and “on them has
light shined” (Is 9:2).
5.
But this
Light isn’t just for those who despair in Israel; it’s for all people,
Jew and Gentile alike, the Bible tells us. That means when you and I see our
economy doing bad, when we see our nation growing morally and spiritually weak,
when we see what appears to be the last days of our national greatness, the
Dayspring rises on us, the Light shines for us.
But let’s be careful; the Light, the Dayspring, isn’t a promise of the
rebirth of national greatness. Instead, this is a promise of Light shining from
Jesus showing us that he’s the way to the kingdom of God. He’s the Light who
keeps us safe through faith no matter what happens to our country. When you and
I have faith in Jesus the Light, guess what happens to our fears of death and
darkness? They’re replaced with joy! Hence, the words of our song as translated
by Rev. John Mason Neale: “O come, Thou Dayspring from on high, And
cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s
dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice!
Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!” (LSB 357:6)
6.
This is good
news! But its fulfillment took a while. Israel had Isaiah’s promise of the
Light for over 700 years. Isaiah said the Light would come as a Child, that the
government would rest on his shoulders, that he would be the Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Isaiah said he
would be the heir to David’s throne and rule with justice and righteousness
forever (9:6–7). He would be everything a world shrouded in darkness
needs.
7.
Well, 700
years after the promise, the Dayspring, dawned! The fulfillment comes in the
birth of Jesus. That’s the message of Christmas. But who receives him? At
first, it’s a few shepherds, rejected by most people because they had a
reputation for being dishonest, for being thieves, for seldom if ever attending
services at the synagogue or visiting the temple during the feasts. They knew
they were sinners who needed the Dayspring, so they welcome Jesus. Later, a few Wise Men receive Jesus the
Dayspring, Magi, Gentiles from Persia who probably heard about the Messiah from
exiled Jews living there. From the Old Testament, the Magi would have learned
that the bright star they followed was the fulfillment of prophecy, “a star shall come out of Jacob, and a
scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Num 24:17). Gentiles had always been
excluded, but this star promised the Magi welcome. So they come.
8.
But it wasn’t
a star the leaders of Israel who loved the darkness wanted to see. Herod the
king rejects Jesus. The priests, Pharisees, and Sadducees—for the most part,
these reject Jesus. Despite the crowds that sometimes flocked to him, not that
many people welcomed Jesus as the Light. Most people liked things the way they
were. After 3 years of Jesus’ ministry, how many were there in the Upper Room
on the Day of Pentecost? Only about 120!
John tells us in his Gospel that Jesus “the true light, which gives light to everyone . . . came to his own,
and his own people did not receive him”
(John 1:9, 11). How grieved our Lord is that the people who need him don’t
receive him. People whom he made and
loves, people lost in darkness of sin, people afraid of death! He came as Light
in the darkness and they don’t receive him. Oh, how everyone needs his light!
9.
How is Jesus
that Dayspring? Here’s how: he shines for us through the light of his
resurrection! On Good Friday and Holy Saturday, the disciples and friends of
Jesus are wallowing in darkness, sorrow, self-loathing, death, and despair. Their
hope that Jesus is the Messiah has evaporated. Jesus has been crucified and
buried, his tomb sealed. For the followers of Jesus, there’s nothing but
misery. And they stay miserable until
one by one they meet the risen Lord. First it’s Mary Magdalene. Then two
disciples who talk with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Then, Peter meets Jesus.
Then the Ten. Then a week later, the Eleven. One by one, the Dayspring of the
risen Jesus rises in their hearts and drives away their darkness and fear.
10.
I love the
story of the disciples who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Jesus starts
walking along with them and asks them what they’re discussing. They’re so depressed
they don’t recognize him. They even insult him, saying he must be the only
person in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what’s happened. They walk. They talk. Jesus,
who must be disappointed with their unbelief, opens the Scriptures to them and
explains how his suffering, death, resurrection, and final entrance into glory
are all foretold by Moses and the Prophets.
Slowly, the spark of faith begins to glow in these disciples. It’s
evening when they reach Emmaus, so they ask Jesus to stay with them and share a
meal. As Jesus breaks bread and gives thanks, the light of faith is switched
on. The Bible tells us. “Their eyes
were opened, and they recognized him” (Lk 24:31). Then Jesus vanishes. The disciples,
unconcerned about how dark it’s getting, run all the way back to
Jerusalem, afraid of nothing. They burst into the Upper Room, find the Ten, and
proclaim, “The Lord has risen indeed!”
(Lk 24:34).
11.
There was a
woman named Ilse. In her 80s, Ilse was in and out of the hospital. Her world
had become small, but she still had a heart filled with the joy of faith and
generosity. She was always giving—to church, her favorite charities, to
children. One day, Ilse was taken to the
hospital after another health crisis. Her pastor rushed to the hospital to see
her. She was barely conscious. As he usually did, he read Scripture and prayed.
He prayed that God would spare her, that she’d get better, that she’d improve
enough to go home. Then he left, not sure if she was even aware that he’d been
there. A few days later, the pastor called on her again. This time, she was
much better. My, was she talking! She scolded her pastor! She said, “I was ready to go and be with Jesus. But
you prayed for me, and I got better.” That’s a woman who had seen the light
in Jesus and could go to sleep peacefully in his arms any time. I’d like to read you the literal English
translation of the Latin of what was originally stanza 5 of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” “O
Dayspring, splendor of light everlasting, Come and enlighten those who sit in
darkness And in the shadow of death.”
12.
When do you
suppose this verse was sung? At night in pitch darkness as part of the Vespers
service! The monks would get up in the middle of the night in the cold of
winter and walk from the stone dormitory where they slept to a dark chapel. How
fearful an experience that must have been! Fearful, that is, until they lit
candles one by one and sang this prayer. Then with candles glowing, God’s Word
would be read and fear would be replaced by faith in Jesus, the Light of the
world. That’s what God wants for us, faith in Jesus the Light, our Dayspring
from on high. We don’t have to stumble around in the dark to find him. On
Christmas Day and every day, Jesus the Light is God’s gift to us through his
Word. Hear the Word with faith, and the Light will dawn. We pray: Lord
Jesus, Dayspring, holy Light, shine away our fears of death and fill us with
the assurance of faith in your resurrection, even on this day as we celebrate
your birth. In your name we pray. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment