St. Matthew Lutheran Church

Midweek Advent Vespers
Wednesday, December 14, 2016

“He Comes, We Come” (Isaiah 35:1-10)

“You go, we go.” That’s what the Chicago Cubs told their centerfielder and leadoff man Dexter Fowler the last couple of years. “You go, we go.” In other words, “As you go, Dexter, so we will go. You are the guy who makes this team go. When you get on base and play well, our team will do well.” And that is what happened. Fowler played very well, and the Cubs won the World Series. “You go, we go.” And now that Dexter Fowler has signed with St. Louis, the Cardinals are hoping for the same result.

“You go, we go.” Today I want to modify that saying a bit to reflect our reading from Isaiah 35. And what I’ll change it to is this: “He Comes, We Come.” He comes, we come. And the result will be something far greater than even a World Series championship.

(more…)

Midweek Advent Vespers
Wednesday, December 7, 2016

“The Shoot and the Root of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:1-10)

Today we continue our series on “Isaiah’s Advent Prophecies.” Today’s prophecy comes from Isaiah 11, and it begins, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” And then our text closes, “In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples–of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.” Notice that this one who is coming is first called “a shoot from the stump of Jesse,” and then he is called “the root of Jesse.” Both “shoot” and “root.” And so our theme: “The Shoot and the Root of Jesse.”

(more…)

Midweek Advent Vespers
Wednesday, November 30, 2016

“The Mountain of the House of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:1-5)

Today we’re beginning a series of sermons I’m calling “Isaiah’s Advent Prophecies.” We’re taking the Old Testament readings for this season of Advent, all taken from the prophet Isaiah, and making them the basis for these messages. Today it’s the reading from Isaiah 2, as we will hear.

In the movie “Field of Dreams,” the main character is told, “If you build it, he will come.” What is it that he is to build? And who is it that will come? That’s what the movie is about. It turns out that what the character is to build is a baseball field, the “field of dreams” of the movie’s title. “If you build it, he will come.” The “he” is rather a mysterious figure; we don’t know for sure who that is until the end of the movie.

There’s another line in the movie where the main character is told “People will come.” He’s being encouraged to go ahead with the baseball field, because many people will come and see games there. If you build it, people will come. And it turns out to be true. People did come.

What made me think of these things is our reading from Isaiah 2. There it’s not “If you build it, people will come.” Rather, it’s “If God builds it, people will come.” And what God will build is, not a field of dreams, a baseball field, but instead the house of the Lord, established on the mountain of the Lord. And people will come there because he will come, namely, the one who will teach us God’s ways and his word. People will come, yes indeed, people will come to “The Mountain of the House of the Lord.”

(more…)

Midweek Advent Vespers
Wednesday, December 17, 2014

“The Great Christmas Gift Exchange” (Isaiah 61:1-4, 10-11)

There is a game that is played at this time of year at Christmas parties all across the land. The game goes by several names, but I think most often it is called “Rob Your Neighbor,” and I’m sure many of you have played it. The rules may vary from place to place, but generally I think it goes something like this. Each person brings a gift that could go to anyone in the group, depending on how the game turns out. The gift is wrapped in a package, so you can’t tell what is inside. When it’s your turn, you pick one of the gifts. The thing is, you have nothing to go on, other than the packaging. But watch out, because the packaging, the size of the box and the colorful wrapping–that might be impressive, but the gift inside may not be so great. On the other hand, the best gifts might be in the least impressive packaging. You don’t know. Then, after everyone has got a gift–then everybody unwraps their package and sees what’s inside. At this point, a period of “robbing your neighbor” may ensue. If it’s your turn, you may steal a gift from someone else at the table. But then somebody else may steal it away from you, and so on, and so on. When time runs out, who knows what you’ll end up with?

So that’s one kind of Christmas gift exchange that may or may not turn out so great. It’s all in fun, though, because the gifts are not that expensive, and so it’s not that big of a deal what you get or don’t get.

But today I want to tell you about a gift exchange that is a pretty big deal. And it’s no game; this is for real, as real as it gets. The items exchanged are not all of the same value; there’s quite a difference among them. Don’t look at the packaging; in this case, the best gifts will come in rather unimpressive-looking packaging. And best of all, what gets taken from you is nowhere near as valuable as what you get in return. And so today we’ll hear about “The Great Christmas Gift Exchange.”

(more…)

Second Sunday in Advent
December 7, 2014

“Comfort, Comfort My People” (Isaiah 40:1-11)

“Comfort, comfort my people.” Yes, comfort. A word so nice, they said it twice. Who did? Why, Isaiah did. Well, actually God said it, through his prophet Isaiah. You heard it at the start of today’s Old Testament Reading from Isaiah 40: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,” etc. God wants his preachers to bring comfort to his people, to speak tenderly to his church. And so this is what God has sent me to do here today for you. He says, “Comfort, Comfort My People.”

(more…)