If you read the Old Testament, you will see that God's people, the children of Israel, even though they were God's special people, constantly turned away from Him. The Old Testament story reads like the biography of the bad kid. Almost always when the choice was between being faithful to the Lord or tagging along with some other religion, the false god wins out. God's people, who had been given the commandments of love and service to their neighbor, were constantly trampling each other down so they could have advantage; they despised one another and lived for themselves. The children of Israel over their history, showed that they neither loved God nor their neighbor. But the Lord continued to make the promise that He would save them. We're not that different. Now the church is God's Israel and do we love Him above all things? Do we put others ahead of ourselves or do we grumble and complain that we never get what we want. We have the Word of the one true God among us but so easily we let strange notions and false spiritual ideas creep in. The Lord's Word teaches us right from wrong and yet we learn our morals and behavior from the world instead. How we love God and how we love others is the measure of our righteousness. If we love God and others we are righteous. If we don't, then we are not.
There is repentance here. Advent is a season of repentance. It's the season of “throw away your sin” and get ready for the Lord's return. But be careful! Repenting of our sins doesn't mean getting our own righteousness. Our problem is this: We know our sinfulness but we can't fix it. We can't fix ourselves so that we love God and our neighbor perfectly. This is why the Lord preaches this promise through the prophet Jeremiah: There will be a descendant of David, whose name will be “The Lord Our Righteousness.” Think about that for a second. Whatever is meant by that big word “righteousness,” your righteousness isn't you. Your righteousness isn't that you do more good works than sins. It isn't that you try hard to make up for your sins. It isn't that you go to church or say your prayers. It isn't that you have good intentions or try to live a good life. It isn't how much of the Bible you know or how much doctrine you can recite. It's none of these things because your righteousness isn't you. The Branch of David is the One born of Mary, Jesus Christ. And He is called “The Lord our Righteousness.” That means that your righteousness is Jesus. How you stand before God the Father; how you look to Him; what your record looks like: it's all Jesus.
Everything Jesus is and does is for you, for being your righteousness. We are conceived in sin and born sinners so Jesus is conceived by the Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. We are baptized and fall easily into our old sinful ways so Jesus is baptized with sinners and goes to fight the devil in the wilderness and defeat his temptations for you. We are distracted from God's Word by every little think imaginable so for us Jesus makes His whole life about teaching God's Word. We do whatever it takes to make our live comfortable so for us Jesus suffers and endures mocking and pain. We avoid death and do everything we can to put it off and not think about it so for us Jesus goes willingly to His death on the cross. When we die, we would stay dead, condemned to the depths of the grave forever so for us Jesus rises again from the dead. When we are born sinners, He casts His own righteousness upon us by the waters of Baptism. When we sin, He speaks through the mouth of our pastor to declare us not guilty. When we need more righteousness, more Jesus, He gives us Himself by His Body and Blood to live in us and be our righteousness. Everything that Jesus does, He does to be our righteousness.
So repent of your sin. Scan the Ten Commandments and identify every way you've not loved God or your neighbor. See exposed by God's Holy Law your LACK of righteousness. In Advent, prepare the way of the Lord by turning away from all that you do that serves yourself and neither God nor others. But don't repent by turning back to yourself. No false promises, “I”ll do better! I'll try harder!” Rather, cling to Christ who is your righteousness. Believe that when the Father looks at you, He sees you as righteous as can be because He sees His own Son when He looks at you. Repent, above all, of trying to have your own righteousness. You can't do it. Hear again Jeremiah's promise about this branch from David's line: His name is “The Lord Our Righteousness.” And make it your own. Whenever you doubt or question how it is between you and the Lord, confess it: “The Lord is my Righteousness!” Jeremiah says He will execute justice and judgment. That's because Jesus takes God's judgment on Himself and gives you that justice that you are rescued from sin and death.
Finally, the prophet says that by Him, Judah and Israel will dwell safely and securely. Here Jeremiah refers to God's people which is His holy church. That's us. To live safely and securely means to live not trying to find our own righteousness or make it up or anything like that. To live safely and securely is to live in Christ. Baptized into God's name, absolved of your sins, and filled with Christ's Body and Blood. When you sin, don't go for more of you! You need more Jesus. More of His Word. More of His absolution. More Body and Blood. And that's exactly what He has for you here in His church. For here, in His church, The Lord who is our righteousness continues to be our righteousness even unto eternal life. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
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