Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the readings for the Third Sunday in Advent all have something in common: they all talk about preachers. Isaiah the preacher. St. Paul who calls himself and all preachers “stewards of the mysteries of God.” And St. John the Baptist, the Greatest Preacher and Prophet in the kingdom of God up to the time of Jesus! So it is no coincidence that one year ago, on the Third Sunday in Advent, the Sunday of the Preachers, you were given a new preacher. You were given a preacher so that you will always have the comfort of God's Word. You were given a preacher whose job is to remind you of your baptism, to absolve you of your sins, to teach you God's Word and to give Jesus' body and blood to you. And on that day, a year ago, there was a preacher whose year and half vacation came to an end. On that day, the mediocre TV salesman was put back to work in the Office of the Holy Ministry. To do what? To remind you of your Baptism, to absolve you of your sins, to teach you God's Word and to give you Jesus' body and blood. In the readings for today, we have two questions: one for me, the preacher and one for you, the hearers, from Jesus. And these two questions are tied together by what our Lord tells St. John. That way, we—me as the preacher and you as the people of God—will all learn the true comfort that Isaiah preaches: the comfort of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah, called by the Lord to preach, hears the Lord's voice: “Cry out!” And Isaiah says, “What shall I cry out?” That's funny. I was just asking myself that this past week as I do every week: What am I gonna preach this week? And I know what you'll say: “Pastor, you'll preach about Jesus again.” I suppose. But I do that every week. If I preach faithfully every week, how come we don't have twice as many people as a year ago? How come our bank account isn't overflowing with money? How come people stop coming to church or only come rarely? Why don't more people want to come to Bible Study and learn God's Word deeply? St. John, who preached that Jesus was the coming Judge with his ax in one hand and his winnowing fork in the other hand, has to ask, “Are you the coming One? Do we wait for another?” Can it be that St. John doubts what Jesus is doing? What should I preach about? The Lord answers Isaiah and says: “Cry out: All flesh is like grass! The grass withers and the flowers fade but the word of the Lord endures forever!” Good news! I'm off the hook. Sort of. My job is to preach God's Word. It's the Lord's job to do something with that Word. Whether there is one person sitting in front of this pulpit or a thousand: I'm just supposed to preach God's Word. The Word of the Law that we wither and die because of our sins. The Gospel that God's Word never passes away and therefore it rescues us from our sins. The Law, that we deserve to be punished for our sins. The Good News that Jesus has paid the price for our sins by His death and therefore, like Israel, we have received double for our sins! Good News! I guess the sermon is about Jesus after all!
That's my question: “What shall I preach?” Answer: preach Jesus the Savior who rescues us from sin and death. What about YOUR question? Jesus asks the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken in the wind? A man dressed in fancy clothes? A prophet? More than a prophet! The greatest prophet up to this point!” So here's your question: What did you come out to see? When you came to my installation a year ago, what did you expect? Why are you in church today? Did you come hoping to catch the pastor in a mistake? Did you come hoping the pastor will do something you don't like so you can complain about it forever and a day? Did you come to see a pastor in fine clothes and vestments? (Do you like my new stole?) Did you come hoping to hear something that will make you FEEL good or better about yourself? My repentance as your pastor is wanting to preach something other than God's Word. Your repentance is wanting to hear something other than God's Word! You are hear, children of God, to become greater prophets even than John the Baptist! John knew that Jesus was the Lamb of God. But He didn't know HOW He would do that. John lost his head before the death and resurrection of Jesus. That is why YOU are greater even than John the Baptist. Because you get to hear about he Lamb's sacrifice for your sins and His triumph over death on the Third Day. You are greater than John the Baptist because you have not only the Old Testament but the New Testament. You have not only God's promises but the fulfillment of His promises in Jesus. All that John pointed to, you have been given in Christ Himself. THAT is why you have come and what you have come to receive.
John sends some disciples to Jesus and asks: “Are you the coming one?” Jesus just doesn't look or sound like the fiery Judge that John was preaching about. But pay close attention to how Jesus answers. He DOESN'T. Jesus doesn't say “Yes, John, I'm the One.” What does He say? “Go back and tell John what you see and hear: the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the poor have the Gospel preached to them.” OK. And? Well, that stuff that Jesus is doing is everything the prophets of the Old Testament said the Christ would do. Jesus is just doing the things God promised. How does Jesus answer John's question? by pointing Him back to the Word. What does the Bible say about the Savior, John? What am I doing? What's your conclusion? Jesus doesn't boast about Himself or even make claims about Himself that are true. He simply refers to the Scriptures. Even the Word made flesh defers to the Word written by the Prophets. John is to believe in and trust in Jesus because what Jesus says and does matches what the Scriptures say about Him. It is the Holy Scriptures which teach what kind of a Savior the Lord is. That He will come in the flesh, born of a woman, to crush the serpent's head. It is the Scriptures that teach that the Servant the Lord sends will be His Son. The Scriptures also teach that this Servant of the Lord will suffer and die for the sins of His people. That their sins will be laid on Him. That their iniquities will bruise Him. That His stripes of suffering will heal us of our sins. All this Jesus does and fulfills in His preaching and teaching and most especially and completely in His suffering and death and resurrection.
Now when your preacher doubts and wonders what to preach about; and when you doubt and wonder why you should bother to come hear the preaching and be in church; where are we directed? Back to the Lord's Word. To the Scriptures. To the Bible. And what does the Bible tell us? It tells us: “Comfort!” It gives us Jesus. Jesus the Son of God in the flesh. Jesus on the cross. Jesus' empty tomb. Jesus at the right hand of the Father. What else does the Bible point to? The works of Jesus! The orphans are given a father in Holy Baptism. Sinners are absolved. Those hungering and thirsting for righteousness are fed with Jesus body and blood! The poor have the Gospel preached to them! Brothers and sisters in Christ, pay attention to that! Look around and see and hear the works of God! At the font. At the altar. From this pulpit. In the Scriptures! The very thing that Jesus does to strengthen John in his trials and sufferings He gives to us to strengthen us in the same. Worn out by sin, troubled by the sufferings of life, attacked constantly by the devil, the world and our own sinful flesh—look to the Word which points you to Jesus! Hear the comfort and the consolation of the Scriptures which declare that the Savior has taken away your sins and will now work all things for your good. Listen to the voice of those prophets and apostles who have seen and testify that the Lord Jesus has triumphed over every enemy of body and soul. Hear the preaching and teaching of your pastor that points you always to Jesus, found in your Baptism, in Holy Absolution, in the preaching of the Gospel and in the Supper. And when you see your pastor tempted to doubt and despair: well, lift him up with God's Word. And when you are fallen into doubt and despair, let your pastor lift you up with that same Word.
Rejoice, dear Christians, on the Third Sunday in Advent. A year ago you were rescued from being preacher-less and I was rescued from having to explain high definition TV to people one more time. But more than that, rejoice because by this arrangement we can be comforted each Lord's Day and every day in between by the sure and certain hope of salvation in Jesus to which the Word of God points us. Hold me to that, brothers and sisters, so that I will never stop delivering it to you. All eyes off of yourselves and your preacher. And all ears on God's Word and Jesus. There's your comfort! Rejoice! Amen.