35. Second Christmas Day. I.
Lord Jesus, gather us by thy word
under the wings of thy grace. Amen.
Gospel Lesson, Matthew 23, 34-39. Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them, which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
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We have been most profoundly corrupted by sin. The enmity toward God, the wickedness from the kingdom of darkness, which came into the world by the malice of the devil, has a terrible power and may, on occasion, develop appalling size and strength in the human heart. And this is especially true of those who have felt the call of God, but have hardened their heart against it. In these the devil has sevenfold power. This is true of the individual and of the people. One illustration of this is furnished by the Jews, and another by the apostate Christians. The Savior stands in the midst of them; but they are enraged, and crucify him. — Did not the Lord know this, before he came to us on earth? Certainly he did; it is even declared in advance by the prophets. But his love is greater than all the might and power of hell; he was determined to come and offer his saving grace to all men. After all, Jesus loves more than the devil hates; the malice of Satan is great, but the love of the Lord is greater. The fire of life in him burns a thousand times more fiercely than do the fires of hell. Man is so precious and dear to him, that he wanted to come to the world, become a man, and die for us, although he knew how many there were who would disdain his love. — That this divine power of grace does not conquer every human heart, is a dark and deep mystery which we are unable to fathom; but this mystery, also, shall some day have a glorious solution. What pity it is that Jerusalem will not let herself be gathered by the Lord Jesus under the wings of his grace! Jerusalem, Jerusalem; there is, then, no hope for you! He that rejects the Lord Jesus rejects himself; for there is not salvation in any other. But all who believe on him shall learn that he is great and rich; they shall receive of his Spirit and be allowed to taste his love; yes, even in the communion of his sufferings, they shall have a better happiness than the highest rapture experienced by any child of this world. “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” He shall destroy everything in you that has its root in the kingdom of darkness.
Our gospel lesson for today testifies with mighty voice to the power of sin and the devil in the world; but the voice rings still more strong in testifying to the unspeakable love and mercy of God in Christ.
We thank thee, Lord Jesus, that thou didst come to us and save us out of our deep fall, that thou didst enter into our misery and dost draw us after thee through sorrow and death to glory. Eternal thanks and praise for thy loving kindness, which prevails over everything that is evil in us. Enlighten us more and more to believe in thee, to know thy ways, to love and serve thee, in order that we willingly may suffer with thee and never tire in the exercises of charity and in bearing witness concerning thee in the teeth of resistance and hate on the part of all the world. Precious Lord Jesus, who didst mourn because of the blindness and the unhappiness of thy people; may we grieve thy Spirit nevermore. Thou seest how sorrowful we also are; but, alas, how much of the sorrow of the world is there not yet in us, and how little of the pangs of thy holy love! Our soul weeps over our wretchedness and cries to thee, merciful Savior; we have thee, we yearn for thee, we rejoice in thee, our joy and salvation; and yet our soul is full of sadness because we cannot, as we ought, believe in thee, love thee, embrace the foot of thy throne, and give ourselves entirely as an offering to thee. Alas, what a sad state of affairs obtains in Christendom, among the people which bear thy name! Lord, have mercy on us, have mercy on thy brethren, have mercy on our people, have mercy on all the world! Amen.*
Arise, O Lord of hosts;
Be jealous for thy name,
And drive from out our coasts
The sins that put to shame.
O Lord, stretch forth thy mighty hand,
And guard and bless our fatherland.
Thy best gifts from on high
In rich abundance pour,
That we may magnify
And praise thee more and more.
O Lord, stretch forth thy mighty hand,
And guard and bless our fatherland.
36. Second Christmas Day. II.
Lord our God, sanctify us while we live,
and save us when we die. Amen.
Acts 6, 8-15 and 7, 54-60. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, and set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: for we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
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Stephen is a glorious example, showing how happy is he that believes in Jesus. The Son of God came to the world, in order that we may go to heaven. None of us doubts that Stephen is there. Be as firmly persuaded, that everyone who believes in Jesus shall go to heaven. By the same grace and faithfulness you and I, also, shall be there. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” You shall not have the same high rank in glory which is accorded to Stephen, who was the first martyr after the ascension of the Lord; but you shall receive the rank that becomes you, and shall in no wise feel any envy. And, indeed, to reach even barely beyond the threshold of the heavenly abode of bliss is more than glory. Look forward to it with joy, let your thoughts dwell upon it, and do not, then, shrink from suffering with the Lord a little while. God, who has ordained how large a cup of suffering you are to drink, has also fixed the time and manner of your death, and he alone knows what is yet before you. He alone knows how much of suffering remains, and how your last hour shall be. But let this suffice, that he knows it; and do you give yourself no concern about the matter. If it shall be your lot to be sorely tried, you shall receive the more strength and see more clearly the coming glory; then, of a sudden, “all sin and suffering are past, and you are saved and free at last; your soul is filled with gladness.” — God, who does not lie, promised us his Son; and we have received him. The same God has promised us everlasting life; we shall as certainly receive this; indeed, we have it already in the Son. Stephen went to heaven, not because of his ability to work great wonders and miracles, but by faith alone. In bliss he now praises God for all his grace; but his power to work miracles and his courage to bear witness of the truth, even in the face of death, are included in the one great gift, Jesus Christ; and when, in eternity, he thanks God for salvation, he thereby praises the Lord for redemption by the blood of Jesus. Have not you, also, been bought by the blood of the Lamb? Is not, then, the same song of praise on your lips? Yes, Christian believer, you are saved, and soon you shall see Jesus by the side of Stephen before the throne. The same Spirit that was in him is in you also; you, also, love your enemies, pray for them which despitefully use you, and bless them that curse you. Such is the love of Christ; it is victorious over death and the devil; and in this love we say at last: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Lord, grant that our faith be true and living, in order that we may be rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, active in charity. Live thou in us, precious Lord Jesus, and let us die in thee. Amen.*
Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
O receive my soul at last!
[TLH 345, listen here; or ELH 209, listen here]
* Here the head of the family says a short morning or evening prayer in his own words, and closes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Benediction. This is to be done every day. If the stanzas are not sung, they may be read in their proper place before the impromptu petition and the Lord’s Prayer.