Christmas Letter 2024 - 12/01/2024

Quickly will these days of Advent fly by and the celebration of our Lord’s incarnation be upon us! I imagine that you are already thinking about the Christmas Services, and hoping that your, and your fellow believer’s, mind and heart would be opened to the incredible awe of the incarnation. Thanks be to God that it is not up to our wisdom and creativity to accomplish this, for we would all surely fail. Christ promises that the Holy Spirit will open hearts and minds to His Word. Rejoice in this!

One of my favorite Christmas hymns – although, I do not recall singing it as a boy, even though it is in TLH – is the Paul Gerhardt hymn, “O Jesus Christ, Thy Manger Is” (LSB 372). The beautiful new tune composed by Kenneth Kosche for the LSB is perhaps part of the reason why I so love the hymn now. Above all, however, it is Gerhardt’s words that I love:

“Thy manger is my paradise at which my soul reclineth.” This not only beautifully proclaims the great blessing of Christ’s birth; it also captures the mystery of it. The mystery, of course, was hidden behind the ordinariness of His birth: the pain of labor and delivery… the very humble setting… the dirty and smelly shepherds bursting in and bowing down. This very ordinariness, however, especially declares God’s incredible sacrifice out of love for us sinners. How low He bends down for us! The Almighty God, “whom the sea and wind obey doth come to serve the sinner in great meekness.” (374:2) He who is eternally holy and an eternal Spirit “With us art one, Dost join us and our children in great weakness.” (374:2) “God’s own Child, in mercy mild, joins thee to Him; how greatly God must love thee!” (374:4)

How greatly loves all people! Keep this in your mind and heart, especially during these busy days in which you may feel that you have not loved and served and appreciated God’s awesome work as well as you could. The ordinariness, and especially the lowliness, of our work at times – struggling to stay awake during an evening Service… singing along with poorly played accompaniment (give great thanks if this is not your problem!)… seeing so many fewer people in church in the days before, and especially after, Christmas – can really make you wonder if anything is being accomplished. Remember: our salvation is above all God’s work! “Remember thou what glory now the Lord prepared thee for all earthly sadness” (374:5) – the glory of one day seeing your Lord with your own eyes and hearing Him welcome you into His eternal home!

One thing I encourage every faithful Lutheran to make the time to do during these busy days is to read Luther’s commentary on the Magnificat (Luther’s Works, vol. 21). If you can’t find it, ask your Pastor for help. It is one of Luther’s most marvelous teachings of the theology of the cross and the mystery of faith. I am sure that you will be blessed by his words.

In closing:

In Christ Jesus, our Lord,

Pres. Beinke