New Year's Day (1891)

Luke 2:21 Children of this world perhaps wish for themselves today a Happy New Year. What are they thinking about? Many of them, nothing at all. Others think about earthly happiness. And what guarantee have we that our wishes are fulfilled? We Christians wish a blissful new year to each other and we are thinking of all sorts of good things, corporeal and spiritual, temporal and eternal. Are our desires fulfilled? Yes. What guarantee have we? The blessing of the Lord for the New Year 1. the Lord bless you and keep you! a. "And when eight days were accomplished", eight days, since Christ was born man, a human life to lead, a poor life in this vale of tears, nourished at His mother's breast, a nursling of the carpenter of Nazareth, a subject of earthly government, and a sensation of God preserved His breath. Thus Mary's Son lived His earthly life; thus He was equal to His brothers, the blessed of the Lord. The same sun that shone on Him also shines on us. The same Almighty God, Who Mary once fed and nurtured Jesus His Son, now fills one year to another with His good; Who blessed Joseph's handiwork, Who also encourages our handiwork that we are able to supply our household. He gave days of peace to Augustus in his kingdom, He also preserves kings and magistrates in our time that we are able to lead a peaceable and quiet life in all honesty. He blessed the earth at the beginning of time, He opened His gentle Hand in the fullness of time and gave food to all flesh, He sows His blessing over city and country even in these last times. Should we not have a share in it? Perhaps you are poor as the child Jesus was? Go confidently into the new year; do not worry about your earthly life. You are God's child; so you also live under God's blessing in the new year: the Lord bless you, your coming in and going out, your work and your rest, your basket and your leftovers. b. "And when eight days were accomplished", eight days in an evil world, not in the peace of paradise. One Herod of Judea spread his terrors; and soon he allowed the murderous blade to whip out upon the little children of Bethlehem. But not just yet; God still permitted it. And even as the thugs came, they did not find and meet this Child; He slumbered in God's protection. Even now days are evil; a thousand dangers lurk on all paths: diseases, fire, flood, tempest, the wickedness of man, the powers of darkness will threaten around us also in the new year. Fear not, O Christian heart; He protected his child Jesus, He also protects you; He will cover you with His wings, your confidence will be under His wings. "The Lord keep you"; He is your shade and your shield; He encamps His angel hosts all around you, the guardian of Israel, who never sleeps nor slumbers. As you are blessed in the body, so you shall also be in spirit; 2. the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you! a. "that the Child would be circumcised". What Child? The Child, after Whose birth the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds out in the fields, when the Child lay in the dark stable. They also were Abraham's children; but the glory of the Lord filled them with horror, for they were sinners. But this Seed of Abraham was holy. Nevertheless, He takes up the mark that the sinful children of Abraham wore. He was again like his brethren, born under the Law, even under the

curse of the Law, until God even hid His fatherly countenance from Him in the darkness of Good Friday, until the night of His death, until the night of death surrounded Him, the Dayspring from on high. And we are sinners; we also enter the new year as sinners. How, if God in the new year is with us into judgment? How, before it runs out, would we be carried away from God's tribunal? How, if in this year's run, the glory of the Lord shone for the final judgment of the world? Must we not be expecting the terrible word: "Depart, ye cursed!"? No, dear Christian; the blessing of the Lord applies to you: "the Lord make His face shine upon you"; the light of His Face shall rise over you every day of the new year with ever new splendor. And this splendor shall not be terrible for you, but comforting; because He does not shine from Sinai, but from the little crib at Bethlehem and from the throne of majesty as the glory of god in the face of Jesus Christ, as from a friendly, lovely shining face of the Lord, to comfort and to refresh you. How does this happen, because I am still a sinner? b. "His name was called Jesus." The little child that was circumcised on the eighth day, the Seed of Abraham, the Holy God, Who bore the curse of the Law, tasted the wrath of the Father, atoned the punishment of sins, gave His life in death, Jesus was the Savior, your Savior; He went under the Law for you that His obedience would benefit you; He was loaded with a curse for you, yes, even a curse for you, bore indignation and wrath, so that you would partake of the blessing: "the Lord be gracious to you." The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, your Savior, Who has devised an eternal redemption, must and shall console you also in the new year, in all sinful distress, in all coming tribulation, yes, in the midst of death, also in the last judgment. Must you, shall you, can you even do it? Of yourself, no; but 3. the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace! a. "which was named by the angel." O, if Satan would have prevented this, that this name was mentioned. Then the poor world would have to remain unblessed, even though the sent Savior would purchase salvation. This is still his thought and aspiration; who could not make dumb the angel of the Annunciation, the messenger of the holy night, the Herald at the empty grave, he attempts at least for now even to prevent the course of Gospel. Indeed God's gracious countenance kindly shines again over the ransomed world; God is gracious in Christ Jesus to sinners; but Satan clenches dark clouds in abundance: false doctrine, lies and slander, doubt and temptations of all kinds. That he will also do in the new year; woe if his work should succeed among us! But it shall not succeed. The Name that was given by the angel, shall also be given in the new year by God's messengers, by the evangelists and apostles in the Scriptures, by God's preachers in our pulpits; thus the blessing will be fulfilled among us: "the Lord lift up His countenance upon you." High above all the erring, all lies, all the doubts and temptations of the spirit of the Lord lifts up His countenance; He lets his breath blow in Word and Sacrament, His light also shines upon us; the devil shall not hinder; b. "before He was conceived in the womb", God has determined and manifested the Name of the Savior; His decree was certain already from all eternity, that has its expression in the Name of Jesus. He has also called us by our name, because we were not yet prepared. What this year holds in her lap is current to her, in which it is eternally called "today." What will it bring us? Peace. Thus the blessing over the people concludes: "and give you peace", the peace of God that is higher than all reason, the peace that the world does not give, peace in the heart, peace in the conscience, also God's peace in the struggle with Satan, world, and flesh, and after the last struggle and victory eternal peace of the perfect blessed ones of the Lord. A.G.