LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 266

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266

II. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
in the Virgin Mary’s lap and are her dear child. This
faith you have to practice and to pray for as long as
you live; you can never strengthen it enough. That is
our foundation and our inheritance; on it the good
works are built.80

do not look at your own wounds, but fix your gaze
on Christ.”78
Although we know we are speaking of wonders that transcend our ability to comprehend them, we have somehow
grown used to speaking of Christ “suffering for us” and
“dying for us.” What can it mean that He was born for us? It
is probably easiest simply to let Luther teach us.
Christ has a pure, innocent, holy birth. Man has
an impure, sinful, damned birth, as David says in
Psalm 51[:5]: “Behold, in sin am I fashioned in the
womb, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
There is no remedy for this except through the pure
birth of Christ. Now the birth of Christ cannot be
distributed physically even as that would not be
of any help either. For this reason it is distributed
spiritually, by means of the word, to everyone, as
the angel says, so that all who firmly believe that it
is given to them in this manner shall not be harmed
by their impure birth; this is the manner and means
to become cleansed from the stain of the birth we
have from miserable Adam. Christ willed to be born
so that we might be born in different manner as he
says in John 3[:3-6]. This happens through that faith,
as James 1[:18] says: “He has born us of his own will
through his word of truth, so that we begin to be his
new creation.” In this manner Christ takes to himself
our birth and absorbs it into his birth; he presents us
with his birth so that we become pure and new in it,
as if it were our own, so that every Christian might
rejoice in this birth of Christ and glory in it no less
than if he, too, like Christ, had been born bodily of
Mary. Whoever does not believe this or has doubts
about it, is not a Christian.79
What a wonderful Christmas exchange! Luther concludes
this section of his sermon:
To us, to us, born to us and given to us. Therefore
see to it that you derive from the Gospel not only
enjoyment of the story as such, for that does not last
long. Nor should you derive from it only an example, for that does not hold up without faith. But see
to it that you make his birth your own, and that you
make an exchange with him, so that you rid yourself
of your birth and receive, instead, his. This happens,
if you have this faith. By this token you sit assuredly

We’ll add one more point from Luther, then pause for discussion. Luther ends the paragraph quoted immediately above
by mentioning good works. Such a faithful Christmas, such a
“justifying Christmas” in which God gives us as our own all
that His Son possesses and has accomplished for us, leaves us
“full and rich.”81 How else should we celebrate such Christmas
bounty than by following Christ’s example? Everything Christ
did — including being born for us — was for our good. We,
in turn, are to make sure everything we do is for the good of
our neighbor. And so, Luther inserts into his sermon a recipe
for a sweet and satisfying “Christmas cake”:
[Christ said,] “This is my commandment that you
love each other as I have loved you” [John 13:34].
You see here that he has loved us and that he has
done all his works for us. The purpose is that we, in
turn, do likewise, not to him — he is not in need of
it — but to our neighbor. That is his commandment;
that is our obedience; and so faith brings about that
Christ is ours, even as his love brings about that we
are his. He loves, and we believe, and those are the
ingredients of the cake. Again, our neighbor believes
and is expecting our love. We, then, should love him,
too, and not let him look and wait for us in vain. The
one is the same as the other: Christ helps us, so we
help our neighbor, and all are satisfied.82

80

AE 52:16.

AE 17:224–225.

81

AE 52:16.

79

AE 52:15.

82

AE 52:17.

What is to be preached? Christ — born for you, born to be
your Savior. This message and this alone comes down from
heaven, shines as the glory of God and is delivered by His
personal messenger. “If there were something else to preach,
then the evangelical angel and the angelic evangelist would
have touched on it.”90

5. How does Luther’s explanation of what is to be
preached support (from Scripture) our emphases on
grace alone and faith alone? We could also ask the
question this way: When God introduces His Son to
the world, what does He tell the world about Him?
What is He to do? What are we to do?

The Second Matter, Part 2: Preachers and Hearers
In his introduction, Luther also tells us that this text has
something to teach us about who are to be this gospel’s
preachers and who are to be its hearers. These two points, as
well, are instructive for us, but we will treat them only briefly.
When describing the angel who makes the announcement
to the shepherds, Luther says that this angel “takes over the
office” of evangelist. He doesn’t say merely “I preach” or “I
proclaim;” rather, he says εὐαγγελίζομαι (euangelizomai),
which, in this context especially, means, “I bring you good
news” — “I am an evangelist and my word is a gospel.”91

21

“The pupils,” Luther writes, “are shepherds, poor folk out
in the fields. Here Christ keeps the promise made in Matthew 11[:5]: ‘The poor have the gospel preached to them,’
and in Matthew 5[:3]: ‘Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.’”94 It was not to the rich, the powerful or
the learned that this message was first delivered. The gospel
comes to the poor.
The gospel is a heavenly treasure which refuses to
tolerate another treasure alongside it; it cannot get
along with another earthly guest in the heart.95
Luther adds that the fact that these poor happened to be shepherds can serve to remind us that everyone who receives such
good news should be a shepherd to another, “pastur[ing]” him
and taking care of him “in the darkness of this life.”96
6. This section of Luther’s sermon evokes the idea that
life is the real Christmas pageant. What thoughts come
to mind as you consider playing the role of “angel” for
someone this year? And what about playing the role of
“shepherd”?

Concluding Thought
Luther concludes his sermon with a reflection on the “Gloria in Excelsis” in Luke 2:14. An appropriate conclusion to
this session would be to read — better still to sing — together Luther’s hymnic reflection on this text, “From Heaven
Above to Earth I Come” (LSB 358).

92
AE 52:24. Actually, both Luke’s Greek ἄγγελος κυρίου (angelos kyriou) and the
Latin Bible’s angelus domini should be translated “angel/messenger of the Lord.”
Luther’s point still stands.

AE 52:24.

89

AE 52:19.

94

AE 52:25.

90

AE 52:21.

95

AE 52:25.

91

AE 52:20.

96

AE 52:25.

[I]n the church, nothing other than the gospel shall
be preached.84

AE 52:18.

22 | Justifying Christmas — Leader’s Guide

Students who associate Martin Luther with Saint Paul may
well have expected this to be the first text in our “Justifying
Christmas” series. Students less familiar with the Bible may
be very surprised to learn of a text outside the Gospels that
speaks of the birth of Christ. It is hoped that for both groups
this session will be a fitting, satisfying and thought-provoking conclusion to the study.
Many Lutherans are familiar with Luther’s great love for
Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians and may well have heard
of his reference to it as his “dear little epistle,” his Biblical
fiancée, his “Katy von Bora.”97 Instructors and students alike
may be less acquainted with the academic attention that has
been paid to this epistle in New Testament studies. Many
would point that renewed interest to the publication of
Hans Dieter Betz’s commentary in 1979.98 Galatians has remained at the center of much of the academic study of Paul
and his theology ever since, including such hotly-debated
issues as the “new perspective on Paul” and questions about
the meaning of the phrase πίστις Χριστοῦ (pistis Christou)99
— “faith of Christ.” As has been true of all of the studies in
this series, there will not be time for even a brief review of
all of these introductory matters here. Moreover, many of
these questions are only indirectly related to our questions,
if at all. Here again, the introductory pages in one of our
study Bibles will provide an adequate (re)introduction to
this letter. It would be helpful to remind students that Paul
wrote this letter very early in his career, that he wrote it to a
congregation diverse in its ethnic composition and that he
wrote with righteous anger to a group of Christians within
which many were turning away from the gospel of Jesus
Christ to seek another gospel (as if there could be such a
thing!).
Paul has said a great deal about the topic of justification by
chapter 4, and many of those texts will receive treatment in
other “Justification Bible Studies” published by the Commission on Theology and Church Relations. A good example and a helpful introduction to the topic is Gal. 3:10–14, a
97
AE 54:20. For the original text, see WA TR 1:69, 146: “Epistola ad Galatas ist
mein epistelcha, der ich mir vertrawt hab. Jst mein Keth von Bor.” The Latin has
for “der ich mir vertrawt hab” “qui me despondi” = “to whom I am betrothed.”
98
Hans Dieter Betz, Galatians: A Commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Churches in
Galatia, Hermeneia (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979).
99
The study follows the Greek transliteration convention presented in The SBL
Handbook of Style, 59–60.

Justifying Christmas — Leader’s Guide |

2019 Convention Workbook

The answer to this would seem to be quite obvious after Part
1 of this study, and so it is. Luther begins his discussion of
the second matter with a very direct and simple statement:

Introduction

It is not only the ordained messenger of God’s word who
should adorn his preaching with a godly life, but everyone
who wants to be messengers of this good news for and to
the world should lead “heavenly lives.” And yet, for all messengers, the message always remains more significant than
the messenger’s life.93

93

The Second Matter: What One Is to Preach

Session 4: Gal. 4:4–5

When Luther takes up directly the question of who are to be
the preachers of this gospel, he writes,
The preachers are to be angels, i.e., messengers of
God, and they are to lead a heavenly life, dealing all
the time with the word of God, so that they never

4. How would you now summarize “what we are to
believe” on the basis of this part of Luke’s Christmas
story? How is the birth of our Lord already part of His
justifying work, not merely “setting the stage” for it?

84

preach human doctrines. It is a most unseemly
thing, to be God’s messenger and not to promulgate
his message. Angelus means “messenger” and here
Luke calls him angelus domini, “messenger of God.”92

Discussion Question

Well, so that is that. Now we must dismantle the tree,
Putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes —
Some have got broken — and carrying them up to the attic.
The holly and the mistletoe must be taken down and burnt,
And the children got ready for school. There are enough
Left-overs to do, warmed-up, for the rest of the week —
Not that we have much appetite, having drunk such a lot,
Stayed up so late, attempted — quite unsuccessfully —
To love all of our relatives, and in general
Grossly overestimated our powers. Once again
As in previous years we have seen the actual Vision and failed
To do more than entertain it as an agreeable
Possibility, once again we have sent Him away,
Begging though to remain His disobedient servant,
The promising child who cannot keep His word for long.83

83
W. H. Auden, Collected Poems, ed. Edward Mendelson (New York: Random
House, 1976), 307.

Justifying Christmas — Leader’s Guide |

doing is summarily rejected, it raises up only the
honor of God so that henceforth nobody can boast
of a single capability, but is obliged to give honor to
God and to leave the glory to him, so that it is purely
through his love and goodness that we are saved
through Christ … For man’s teaching is this earth’s
light and is man’s glory. It raises up man’s glory and
praise and makes souls arrogantly rely on their own
good works, whereas the gospel teaches them to rely
on Christ and on God’s mercy and kindness, to glory
and to be bold in Christ.89

Consider the following excerpt from W. H. Auden’s “For the
Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio”:

3. Many people, even many Christians, feel disappointed
“in Christmas” because the joy of the season fades so
quickly. What does Luther suggest is the cause for such
disappointing, ephemeral “holiday cheer,” and what
remedy does he suggest?

Has Luther strayed from his text? In one sense, certainly.
Luther has access to centuries of reflection on the meaning
of the angel’s words to the shepherds that Bethlehem night.
No one would claim that all of this was running through
the shepherd’s minds as they were running through the
streets of that “little town.” And yet, what did the shepherds
hear? “There is born for you a Savior.” The word savior is so
common in our Christian conversation that we forget how
uncommon the word is in the Gospels. The word does not
appear at all in the first two Gospels and appears only once
(spoken by Samaritans!) in the fourth. In Luke’s Gospel, the
word appears twice: once in 1:47, in the Magnificat, where
Mary rejoices in “God, my Savior”; and here. That makes

78

Luke 2:11 the only time in Luke’s Gospel where Jesus is
referred to as σωτήρ (sōtēr), as “Savior.” At that moment,
the shepherds joined the great multitude who have pondered and continue to ponder, meditate on and rejoice in
the question “What Child is this?” For us, too, as we grow
in faith and as the church’s reflection on Christ’s birth for us
is deepened and enriched, the wonders of this salvation are
more clearly “unwrapped” before our eyes.

23

24 | Justifying Christmas — Leader’s Guide

Luther makes clear in what follows that he is using gospel
here in its broader sense: “Now the gospel teaches only the
two previous things, Christ and his example, two kinds
of good works: one kind belonging to Christ, by means of
which we in faith, attain salvation, the other kind belonging
to us, by means of which our neighbor is helped.”85 Luther
reinforces what he has said about the way faith unites us
to Christ and makes all that is ours His and all that is His
ours. He asks us how nature or human reason or intelligence could have discovered such a teaching. He concludes,
“Hence the gospel and its interpretation are an entirely supernatural sermon and light, setting forth only Christ.”86 He
illustrates how this is brought out in Luke 2 by pointing out
several features of the text. Although some of these may be
a bit too symbolical for some modern readers, the first three
of these features will serve as a helpful way of adding detail
and depth to Luther’s summary statements.
Luther’s first point is his most important: “it was not one
human being who announced to another this birth of
Christ, but it was an angel who came from heaven and announced to the shepherds this birth of Christ.”87 Unlike us,
who are bombarded with reminders of how many days are
left before Christmas, the world was in complete ignorance
that God was giving the world His only-begotten Son that
night — until He made it known to them through His messenger. This calls to mind Paul’s statement that the gospel he
proclaimed was not κατὰ ἄνθρωπον (kata anthrōpon) — it
didn’t originate from human sources, nor did it come by
means of human agency (cf. Gal. 1:11-12).
Luther’s second point reinforces his first point by reminding
us that this happened in the middle of the night. “[A]ll the
world is in darkness at his advent and [for] that reason is
unable to recognize Christ.”88 This is not the first mention of
the dark condition of the world Christ was born into; recall
the words of Zechariah that his son, John, would “go before
the Lord … to give light to those who sit in darkness and in
the shadow of death” (Luke 1:76, 79).
Luther’s third point further reinforces this by pointing out
that the light comes from heaven. In fact, Luke calls this
not “light” but δόξα κυρίου (doxa kyriou), “the glory of the
Lord.” Why?
Since the gospel is a heavenly light, teaching nothing
but Christ in whom God’s grace is given us and our
85

AE 52:18.

86

AE 52:18.

87

AE 52:18–19.

88

AE 52:19.

passage that will come up again later in this study. The class
is strongly encouraged to look at this passage while heading
toward our text for this session.
A final word of introduction is required for chapter 4 itself.
The instructor will need to decide if there is time to actually
read 4:1-3, but the contents of those verses should at least be
summarized for the class.
1. What metaphor does Paul develop as he works his way
to our text? (Gal. 4:1–3) Paul uses a metaphor here in
such a way that it could almost constitute a parable. His
metaphor is inheritance, and he points out that, prior to
an heir reaching the age of majority, the heir is little different from a slave in terms of his experience. Legally, he
owns everything, but he lives as a “slave” under guardians
and managers “until the date set by his father.” Verse 3
begins the transition from the metaphor to reality with
its οὕτως καὶ ἡμεῖς (houtōs kai hēmeis), “so also we.” As
with the parables of our Lord, here, too, that transition
is almost seamless. Sadly, though, many readers do not
continue “seamlessly” into verse 4; rather, they see this
verse as a new departure. We’ll see momentarily why such
an approach to verses 4-5 makes the task of interpretation more difficult. First, though, a brief comment on the
strange-sounding phrase “the elementary principles of
the world.”
2. What does Paul mean by “elementary principles of the
world?” Paul writes that before we reached our “spiritual majority,” i.e., while we were still infants in the sight
of God’s laws of inheritance, we were all slaves to τὰ
στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου (ta stoicheia tou kosmou). As might
be expected, this unusual phrase has given rise to widely
varying interpretations. Since our goal is not to study this
passage per se, we will limit our discussion here to but
one approach, though one that has much to commend
it. F. F. Bruce provides a fuller discussion of the phrase in
his New International Greek Testament Commentary, but
these summary paragraphs provide a basic understanding
of “the elementary principles of the world”:
If Paul had been referring only to the former paganism of the Galatians, the στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου
[stoicheia tou kosmou] might have had the same kind
of meaning as in those quotations from Philo and
Ps.-Callisthenes, but in the immediate context existence ὑπὸ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου [hypo ta stoicheia
tou kosmou; “under the elementary principles of the
world”] is equated with existence ὑπὸ νόμον [hypo