Isaiah 55:10-13; 2 Corinthians 11:19—12:9; St. Luke 8:4-15

It is a happy coincidence that today’s OT reading begins by mentioning the snow that comes down from heaven. When we have a heavy snowfall like this, it forces everything to slow down, and makes the world quiet for a time. A prayer for the end of the day makes reference to the end of our life, when the fever of life is over and the busy world is hushed. When everything (except Divine Service, of course!) is cancelled, it gives us a taste of that hushing of the busy world. When that final hushing comes, only one thing will matter, holding on to the Word. And only one division will be made: those who put their trust in the Word’s promises, and those who put their trust instead in the empty promises of devil, world, and flesh.

Isaiah compares the snowfall to the Word of God which comes down. The snow comes down from heaven to moisten the earth so that when spring comes, the earth may grow; and the Word comes down from heaven to likewise give growth. The Word comes to call us to repentance for our sins, to forgive us those sins, to create in us saving faith, i.e., trust in Jesus as our Redeemer, to bring forth the fruit of good works in us, and finally to keep us steadfast in the faith until our life’s end and bring us to the resurrection of the body and life in God’s kingdom.

And arrayed against this are the things alluded to in the Parable of the Sower: the devil; testing and affliction; and cares and riches and pleasures. The first challenge is the crafts and assaults of the devil. The devil seeks to prevent man’s salvation by “lifting up the Word from the heart,” as a bird snatches seed from the ground. The devil’s main object of attack is always the Word of God, because man is saved by believing the Word, i.e., believing the threats and promises of God. The devil’s aim is to prevent that: “So that not believing, they are not saved.”

The second challenge is in testing, trials. This is likened to the seed that feel on rocky soil. It didn’t have roots, so it died from lack of moisture. Trials test our roots – are we rooted in the promises of God? Our English translation calls this a “time of temptation,” implying the devil’s work of seeking to lead a person into sin. However, it can also mean God’s work of testing to reveal our true quality, and to improve and perfect the believer. Coming through the test, the believer develops a stronger trust in God.

The Lord tests His servants, or allows them to endure afflictions, in order to assess our quality. When we are tested, we find out whether or faith is sincere. It is also a means to spiritual improvement, as the hoped-for outcome is that we would emerge from the trial purified and more convinced than ever to serve our Lord. In a pre-New Testament writing, the believer is urged to give thanks to the Lord for allowing us to be put to test like our fathers. It is a paradox: if He allows us to be tested, it must mean He cares about us. The Hebrew book of Wisdom says that those whom “God has put to the test, he has found worthy of himself” (Wis 3:5). The Jewish wisdom writings say that God takes His sons on difficult paths, so that they learn through experience what is good or bad for their souls (Sir 37:27; 39:4). Hopefully this is the conclusion that life is drawing us all to: we once thought we could find happiness in the joys of this world, but now we recognize that those pleasures are empty (Eccl 2:1).

This is why St. James says, “Always reckon it as joy, brethren, to be exposed to trials of all sorts, knowing that the trial of your faith produces patience” (1.2). Amazingly, James continues, “Happy is the person who endures trial, for after being proved he will receive the crown of life that [God] has promised to those who love him” (Jas 1:12).

A profound example of testing is recorded in today’s Epistle. St. Paul says, “A thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”

Paul’s example helps answer the question, Why do afflictions come to us? He was given a “thorn,” a messenger of Satan to keep him weak. He longed for it to be taken away, he prayed repeatedly for his affliction to be removed. But Paul was given a direct Word from God that is meant also for us: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” When the Lord allows us to be weakened, then we have nothing left but God’s grace. Emptied of our own strength, we have God’s strength. And that alone is the strength, grace, and power that will make us able to keep the Word with patience and bring forth the pleasing fruit of good works.

The third challenge to keeping the Word and enduring to the end is found in the seed that feel among thorns. Our Lord likens this to being choked by the cares, riches, and pleasures of this life. Cares, riches, and pleasures all pertain to the sinful lusts for the things of this world. It deals especially with the Ninth and Tenth Commandments, the failure to be content, the desire for another man’s house, another person’s spouse, the idea that by a new gadget, a new job, new people around you, then you will find happiness. These things come in and choke out the Word of God, the Word that tells you to be content with what you have, the Word that commands you to love the people God has given you to love. When we are overwhelmed with cares and anxieties, the desire for riches and pleasures, we no longer trust God to do for us what is best; instead, we have determined to seize for ourselves what we want.

So think about how all of this fits in with today’s prayer. We asked our Lord that we would be defended against all adversity. The adversity from which we seek protection is not chiefly the adversity of everyday life, but the kind of adversity that would cause us to not be the good soil, to fail to keep the Word and bear fruit with patience. We need to be defended from the adversity of the devil, who would snatch away the Word from us. We need to be defended from the adversity of testing, which would cause us to lose hope. We pray for this every day in the Lord’s Prayer: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” And we need to be defended from letting our cares and anxieties, the covetous desire for riches, choke out the Word and prevent us from keeping the Word to the end.

So what does it mean to “keep the Word”? To keep the Word and bear fruit with patience is to put one’s trust in God. The essence of patience in the New Testament is waiting, specifically, waiting upon God. “They shall not be ashamed who wait for Me” (Is. 49.23), says the LORD. “Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say on the LORD!” (Ps. 27.14). Don’t look for the world’s adulation. “You will be hated by all for My name’s sake,” says our Lord Jesus. “But he who endures to the end will be saved” (Mt. 10.22).

The ultimate show of patience, of waiting on the LORD and enduring, is Christ Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12.2). He was patient with us and for us, which is what now enables us to begin to be patient likewise in our trials and anxieties and temptations.

So the conclusion of the parable is not a moralistic command to be better about reading the Bible and coming to church, although those are very good things. The conclusion of the parable is to abide in Jesus and never let go of what He has promised you. Remember that all the promises of this world are empty. The pleasures of this life will not really make you happy. The worries that you have are not worth comparing to the joys of the Lord’s kingdom. The trials and testing you endure are not greater than you can bear; the Lord who allows them to come upon you will also provide a way of escape. And the way of escape is this Eucharist, by which all your sins are absolved and everything you need is given to you.

From the wedding service of Richard Townes, III and Kyle Parton, on Saturday, December 19. We had a major snowstorm that caused the wedding to start late (see pictures below), and unfortunately some of the guests also couldn’t make it. But it was a beautiful wedding.

I’ve been trying an experiment with some of my sermons lately – writing outlines instead of full manuscripts. Thus, what is below is not what I actually said. My experiment confirmed what I have learned before: I preach much, much better from a manuscript than just an outline. The Gospel reading was St. Matthew 25:1-13, The Parable of the Ten Virgins.

Introduction:

The bridegroom was delayed!

And thus was the marriage. That’s from the parable, but perhaps you’ve felt like you were living it out these last few years. Yet here we finally are, at long last!

And the hymn we just sang had words that probably have taken on new meaning for you now, Kyle: “With bridal care yourselves prepare.”

I’m sure you are relieved beyond measure that all of the anxious preparation is finally over.

This day is a day of great thanksgiving to God.

In this marriage, we are reminded of God’s good work of Creation in the beginning, and how, despite our many sins, He continues to love and care for us.

God has established this institution of holy marriage as the foundation of all human society, and specifically, Richard and Kyle, for your benefit and delight.

God gave the Sixth Commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” to show us how much He values Holy Marriage, and will protect and bless it. You should take great comfort in that.

Orders

But the will of God for you in Holy Marriage is much more than sexual fidelity. “We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.”

That love to which God calls you transcends the giddy, gooey love you so naturally have on this glad day. This divine love stays true when there is puke and stench, burnt dinners and broken promises, when anger or despair gets the best of one of you, when sickness ravages the body or dementia assails the mind. In every dark hour when there is suffering, fear, or pain – precisely there, remember God has put you there to be His love to each other.

And that is the only way to understand the headship of the husband that God has established in holy marriage. Richard, as a military man you understand what it is to be under orders. And the orders you are given by God are in permanent effect, never to be countermanded: Love this woman above all else. Never leave your post. Never give up. As you lead your new household, you do so with one object in mind: what is best for your wife, what is best for your family, and not for yourself.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

And that brings us to the Gospel reading I selected for today. I chose it based on one of the hymns you requested, “Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying.”

That Gospel reading is perfect for the Advent season, and more specifically, it shows us that God compares the kingdom of heaven to a wedding.

We come here to the church to intercede to God on your behalf that your marriage be a reflection of the kingdom of heaven, and not of the other place. And so I ask all of you here today to pray earnestly for Richard and Kyle. The marriage liturgy is no mere formality, but our petitioning God to bless them. Luther said about Baptism that people turn out badly because we failed to pray seriously for them at their Baptism. The same could be said, I think, for marriage.

Richard, it will not always be easy to love your wife as yourself. And you, Kyle, will come to those points where the last thing in the world you will wish to do is submit to this man.

That is one of the crosses in marriage: it exposes our selfishness. All of your flaws are revealed, exposed to this strange creature to whom you are now permanently bound. And you will sin against each other in subtle and spectacular ways.

Then what? The foolish virgins in the parable did not have sufficient oil, while the wise virgins prepared themselves for the wedding with a large quantity of oil.

The oil in Jesus’ parable represents a living faith. Like oil in a lamp, it is continually burned up, and so must continually be replenished.

What sustains and replenishes the Christian Faith in you is the very same thing that will sustain and replenish your marriage, particularly in those times of cross-bearing: the Word of God, Holy Communion, and most pointedly in confession and forgiveness.

In the church’s discipline of confession and absolution, we get on our knees and name our specific sins. And then we receive from the pastor, as from God Himself, total and complete pardon. Amazingly, God’s Word says that He not only forgives but forgets our sins.

In your marriage, it is absolutely essential that you do the same thing for each other: when you have sinned against each other, do not cover it up, attempt to justify it or make excuses. Say, “I have sinned against God and against you.” And then, what is more difficult – to say, “I forgive you,” which means the sin is forgotten, not to be brought up again later, the next time you need ammunition.

None of this you have the strength to do on your own. But you are not alone. God has established marriage precisely so that you will not be alone; and He who created this wondrous institution promises that He will never leave you nor forsake you in it.

This season of Advent sets before us Christ’s coming in the flesh, His coming to us now in grace, and His final coming for judgment. His first Advent, most particularly in His crucifixion for the forgiveness of sins and redemption of the world, is the center of all human history. It is also the center of your life together, as your household becomes a little church where the body of Christ is imaged. The marriage vows you will take last until death parts you – but in Christ death cannot part you, for you are joined to Him. He has pledged to you His faithfulness, and He will never, ever go back on His vow to you.

Northern Virginia is a cowardly area when it comes to snow – schools have closed on the mere forecast of snow (including once when it ended up not snowing at all), and many churches cancel services if it snows. Last weekend, it seemed an awful lot of churches canceled Sunday services, but we don’t cancel the Lord’s Day at Immanuel. We had a very small number of worshippers – I think just under 40 – and about half the church ended up going out for lunch afterward at the same restaurant. The restaurant was full. I find it fascinating that schools and churches will cancel classes and services, and the people that we are trying to protect just go shopping or out to eat anyway. (Obviously the elderly or people with disabilities should be excused during inclement weather.)

Remember, Lutherans, we come from the land of the ice and snow. Don’t go wobbly!