Not all invitations are glorious! It’s true, not all invitations are what they seem to be.
Left to our own sinful ways, we would throw away an invitation that we consider beneath us. That’s because the tempting lies of the devil have had their way with us. The devil’s lies have beguiled us. And so we believe that we are something when we are not!
Main Body
As the fallen children of Adam and Eve, like them, we wish to be like God. We want the praise of others. We covet power, prestige, and possessions. We believe ourselves to be above others.
It’s true, not all invitations are what they seem to be. In sinful ignorance, we gladly accept the devil’s invitation. We too-willingly join him in his make-believe dominion: a realm built on shallow promises and selfish lies, of the flesh catering to all our baser wants.
We may be too intellectual, too sophisticated, to voice such beliefs. We may not freely admit that such base emotions rule us. Yet, even if we shed our self-made lies and delusions, they are there. We want the praise of others. We covet power, prestige, and possessions. We believe ourselves to be better than others.
God’s answer to this sinfulness is what it has always been. Flee from the evil of yourself. Turn toward the good of God. Confess the sins that you’ve hidden even from yourself and the delusions of your heart. Confess who you are.
Deep, or not so deep, inside you, wickedness and depravity lurk. Envy, strife, and deceit have all-too easily made their home within you. Insolence, boastfulness, and arrogance are wriggling beneath the surface of your prim and proper self (Romans 1:29-30).
Flee from the evil of yourself. Turn toward the good of God. For the devil never delivers his lies as promised. Flee from the evil of yourself. Turn toward the good of God. For the devil will leave you hanging in the wind–in the destroying winds of death and the burning winds of hell.
Yet, there is another voice. Through the voice of the Gospel, you can hear and heed the Messiah’s invitation–His invitation to be part of His kingly reign. Of course, not all invitations are glorious! It’s true, not all invitations are what they seem to be.
Remember the hymn we just sang. “Savior of the nations, come, Virgin’s Son, make here Your home! Marvel now, O heaven and earth, that the Lord chose such a birth.” (LSB 332:1)
When there was nothing, there was God the Holy Trinity. The pre-incarnate Son was there, “begotten of His Father before all worlds.” He is “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made” (Nicene Creed).
Out of pure darkness, when there was yet nothing, the invitation came from the Father to His Son. It was an invitation to join the Father in creating the “visible and invisible.” It was an invitation to be the Word, the Word through whom all creation was made and apart from whom came nothing (John 1:3).
Of course, not all invitations are glorious! It’s true, not all invitations are what they seem to be. In that loving and gracious speaking, in such creating, God the Holy Trinity was vulnerable. The creation could turn against its creator. For the Holy Trinity’s self-giving love never forces itself on His creation. He does not manipulate for self-satisfaction.
When perfect creation fell into the abyss of darkness and night, the all-creating Word did not stand by and merely be a spectator. He became one with us. He became human among that which He had once made and spoken of as “good.” The perfect Word of creation, Jesus the Messiah, became the Word made flesh. Jesus fully embraced the Father’s invitation to come down among His sinful children to speak words of light and life to the entire world.
In humility and truest love, the Son left His throne in heaven and joined Himself to the Virgin Mary’s womb. Taking up flesh through the Holy Spirit’s speaking, the one-and-only Son of God began to stir within the Virgin mother that He would fully be what He had once created.
The invitation to become one of us is the greatest miracle of God. It isn’t only that only that He created. No, the miracle is that He would create Himself to be like us in every way, yet without sin, so He could give us His righteousness!
This Word made flesh spoke words of life, healing disease, raising the dead, forgiving sin, and granting eternal life. He does that all with His Word. And, unlike the devil’s word, His Word does what it says. His Word restores and makes whole that which was once sick and separated from God.
Yes, it is as we sang: “From the manger newborn light shines in glory through the night. Darkness there no more resides; in this light faith now abides” (LSB 332:7).
Advent is one of the more contemplative seasons in the Church year. Advent is an invitation. Not all invitations are glorious! It’s true, not all invitations are what they seem to be. The invitation to take part in Christ’s kingly reign is an invitation to follow in His suffering and death. The Advent invitation is a call to take up your cross and follow Him. The Advent invitation, at the same time, calls you to confess Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. You are to speak forth the One who is the Word to all others in your life. You are to sow the seed that has been given you, to work while it is still day.
Faith is the truest theme of Advent. Faith given by our heavenly Father, through the Word, trusts the Word to deliver all that it promises. Such faith is the substance of things hoped for and the certainty that what we cannot see exists (Hebrews 11:1).
Conclusion
Soon, another invitation will come from the Father to the Son to come to earth again. But this invitation will be different. Jesus will come–not in new flesh–but in His crucified flesh now glorified. And on that glorious Day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10).
Then you will hear the invitation: “Come, you who have been blessed by my Father! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). The Word made flesh will be in your heart and on your lips for all eternity. Amen.
