LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 272

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272

II. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

The name of Christ, then, is most agreeable. The
chastisement, or punishment, of our peace, that is, His
chastisement is the remedy that brings peace to our
conscience. Before Christ there is nothing but disorder. But He was chastised for the sake of our peace.
Note the wonderful exchange [mirabilem mutuacionem]: One man sins, another pays the penalty; one
deserves peace, the other has it. The one who should
have peace has chastisement, while the one who
should have chastisement has peace. … And with
His stripes we are healed. See how delightfully the
prophet sets Christ before us. It is a remarkable plaster. His stripes are our healing. The stripes should be
ours and the healing in Christ. Hence this is what we
must say to the Christian: “If you want to be healed,
do not look at your own wounds, but fix your gaze
on Christ.”31
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
31

AE 17:224–225.

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

What a wonderful Christmas exchange! Luther concludes
this section of his sermon:

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.”34 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
32

AE 52:15.

33

AE 52:16.

34

AE 52:16.

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.”44

The Second Matter, Part 2: Preachers and Hearers

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 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.”40

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).

AE 52:24.
AE 52:24.
AE 52:25.

43

AE 52:25.

2019 Convention Workbook

[I]n the church, nothing other than the gospel shall
be preached.37
Luther points out that neither nature nor human reason
nor 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.”38 He illustrates how this is brought out in Luke 2 by
pointing out several features of the text:
Luther’s first point:

Luther’s second point:

Luther’s third point:

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.”39

37

AE 52:18.

38

AE 52:18.

39

AE 52:21.

14 | Justifying Christmas — Participant’s Guide

Session 4: Gal. 4:4–5
Introduction
Did you know that St. Paul also gives us a “Christmas story”
in one of his epistles? Today, we turn to Luther’s “dear little
epistle,” his Biblical fiancée, his “Katy von Bora”45 — Paul’s
Epistle to the Galatians.
Paul has said a great deal about the topic of justification
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 Galatians
3:10–14, a 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.
1. What metaphor does Paul develop as he works his
way to our text? (GAL. 4:1–3)

Because of these similarities, we might be tempted to think
that, in Galatians, Paul has in mind the same overarching
plan of salvation that Luke discusses. That would not be
entirely wrong, but it would miss the connection with the
immediate context in Galatians, and it would miss the
specific point that Paul is making about this point in time.
3. What point in time is it, according to the metaphor Paul
has been developing?

4b “God sent forth his Son”
In the first phrase, Paul sounded just a little bit like Luke. In
this phrase, he sounds just a little bit like John, with John’s
emphasis on the sending of the Son by the Father.46 The verb
that Paul uses here, ἐξαποστέλλω (exapostellō), is a very
common verb used for sending someone out on a mission.
What makes the use of the verb special in this case is, first
of all, the identities of the Sender and the One who is sent.
Paul is speaking of the sending forth by God of His own
Son. Secondly, notice what characteristics of this Son are
highlighted.
4c “born of woman”

The Text: Gal. 4:4-5
Read Gal. 4:4–5. Since we have the luxury of looking at this
text in detail, we will organize the discussion around each
major phrase.
4a “the fullness of time”
Note the similarity between this phrase and Luke’s clauses
in 1:57 (of Elizabeth) and in 2:6 (of Mary):

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.43

42

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:

4. What is Paul emphasizing when he describes Christ as
“born of woman”?

“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.’”42 It was not to the rich, the powerful or
the learned that this message was first delivered. The gospel
comes to the poor.

41

AE 52:17.

2. What does Paul mean by “elementary principles of
the world”? (v. 3)

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.41

40

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?

35

13

The Second Matter: What One Is to Preach

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?

36
W. H. Auden, Collected Poems, ed. Edward Mendelson (New York: Random
House, 1976), 307.

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”?

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. When Luther takes
up directly the question of who are to be the preachers of this
gospel, he writes,

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.36

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
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.33

Justifying Christmas — Participant’s Guide |

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?

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.35

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.32

We may be familiar with Luther’s language of the “wonderful exchange” (der wunderbarliche Wechsel) that takes place
between Christ and the believer, but we probably think
more of the connections to Good Friday and Easter than of
those to Christmas, more of cross than of manger. Here, for
just one example, are Luther’s comments on Is. 53:5:

44

AE 52:25.

Justifying Christmas — Participant’s Guide |

Galatians 4:4

τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου the fullness of time
(to plērōma tou chronou)

Luke 1:57

ἐπλήσθη ὁ χρόνος
(eplēsthē ho chronos)

Luke 2:6

ἐπλήσθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι
the days were fulfilled
(eplēsthēsan hai hēmerai)

45

15

Discussion Questions
In focusing on very specific “small” questions, we sometimes
lose the grandeur of the “big thing” that is being said. Paul
is saying — and on this everyone agrees — that God became
man, that God’s own Son took upon Himself our human
nature and was born of a human mother just as we are.

the time was fulfilled

AE 54:20.

16 | Justifying Christmas — Participant’s Guide

46

Cf. John 3:17, 34; 6:57; and 7:29.