Sermon prepared for Messiah Lutheran Church, Auburn
WA
by Gregory S. Kaurin, associate pastor
11 AM Christmas Day Service, 12/25/02
Text: Hebrews 1:1-4 &
John 1:1-14
Sermon:
The Rose
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This carol that we are about to sing is one of my favorite Christmas hymns, but from where does it come, and what does it mean: a Rose, Jesse’s lineage?
We’re going to start with a history lesson and a
Bible lesson, but by the time we’ve finished singing it, I hope that you will
be taking home a Christmas message of salvation and a renewed relationship with
Christ, the Rose of Creation. Join me
in singing the first stanza of “Lo, How a Rose”
Lo, how a Rose e’er
blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming
as men of old have sung.
It came a flow’ret bright,
amid the cold of winter, when half-spent was the night.
The earliest hint of this carol began in the 700s AD
when a Greek orphan and monk wrote a hymn to Jesus that began, “Oh stem from
the root of Jesse, you are the Flower born of Mary.” The name of that Greek
orphan-monk was Cosmas the Melodist.
(Not "Methodist," they weren’t invented yet, but what a great
Greek name: Cosmas the Melodist, as in “one who makes melody.”)
However, this carol really got its start as a
12-verse song in a German monastery in the 1400’s titled “Es ist ein Ros
entsprugen.” Here’s the amazing
part: it’s rare enough to have a 600 years old hymn and melody, but even the
harmony, all the chords that we hear and sing, were all composed and brought
together 393 years ago by a fellow named Michael Praetorius.
It sometimes amazes me to join in, and become
a part of the body of Christ in its singing; the thought of my voice being
added to all those that have been composing and singing hymns like this
one. For me, it’s the difference
between—on the one hand—old tradition, rituals and—on the other—my
heritage. Tradition and rituals are the
things we do. Nothing negative or
positive about that, but “heritage” is more about the people—receiving and
learning the message that has been passed from generation to generation, and
finally from my parents to me. Then, we
add our own voices, our own songs, and some new rhythms. We keep some of the cherished old, add some
new, and then passing it all on to the next generation. Let it go…to use it all as they will…or as
God wills.
You see, the whole process is exciting to be
a part of; whether we’re singing traditional or contemporary music, we’re
always singing with the whole Christian choir.
I find it humbling and inspiring to join in this choir of God’s faithful
that has been singing for thousands of years in all these different voices,
languages and rhythms.
Personally, I can’t get enough of it! This is Word and Witness: singing hymns and
songs, new and old, preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ and our salvation,
witnessing to our faith and beliefs and passing it all on …in a song.
Darrel is going to play one stanza of “Lo,
How a Rose” on the organ by himself. As
he’s playing, I want you to close your eyes and listen—not just to the music
and chords, but close your eyes and imagine all the thousands and thousands of
churches and voices that have been singing even this one specific hymn,
including its melody and harmony for almost 400 years…beginning in Germany and
slowly spreading around the world, kind of like a blooming rose. Listen to those voices…
[The organ plays through “Lo, How a Rose”
once.]
The idea of Jesus as the “Rose” may have come
from a couple places in the Bible.
First, there is this wonderful passage in the Song of Solomon. The Song of Solomon is a collection of love
poems—but from earliest times God’s people have felt that these poems not only
described the love and passion between people, but also (and more profoundly)
they describe God’s love and passion for his people.
The second chapter of Solomon’ Song begins
with these two verses. Listen
carefully: “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. As the flower among thorns, so is my
love.” “As the flower among thorns, so
is my love.”
The second place in scripture that “Lo How a
Rose” clearly sings about is from the beginning of the eleventh chapter of
Isaiah, which says, “Out from the root of Jesse [Jesse was King David’s father]
will grow a stem—yes, a new branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon
him—the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord…He will be clothed in fairness
and truth.”
So, that’s why we sing this carol in plain
English: “Look how the Rose, which is
always blooming, has sprung up from the tender stem. He has come from Jesse’s son, from King David, just as Isaiah and
the prophets said he would.”
It says that this Rose, that Jesus, came in
the “cold of winter.” You can tell that
this hymn was composed in Germany, because I doubt that the people of Bethlehem
really know what cold is.
I grew up in Great Falls, Montana, right near
the middle of the state. I thought I
knew what cold was. Then I went to college
for four years in Moorhead, Minnesota and I learned what cold is. Minnesotans—and North Dakotans, for that
matter—are the strangest breed of people I know.
Listen to this email. —My mother-in-law sent it to me, and I have
to share it with you:
TEMPERATURE IS ALL RELATIVE
50
Above: Californians shiver uncontrollably. People in Minnesota sunbathe
40
Above: Italian and English cars won't start. People in Minnesota drive with the windows
down.
20
Above: Floridians don coats, thermal underwear,
gloves and wooly hats. People in
Minnesota throw on a flannel shirt.
15
Above: Children are kept indoors in the South. People in Minnesota have the last cookout
before it gets too cold.
Zero: People in Miami all die. People in Minnesota lick the flagpole.
20
Below: Iowans fly away to Mexico. People in Minnesota get out their winter
coats.
40
Below: California disintegrates. The Girl Scouts in Minnesota are out selling
cookies door to door.
60
Below: Polar bears began to evacuate the
Arctic. Boy Scouts in Minnesota
postpone "winter survival" classes until it gets cold enough.
100
Below: Mt. St. Helen's freezes up, and Santa
abandons the North Pole. People in
Minnesota rent some videos and build a fire in the wood stove.
297
Below: Microbial life is no longer able to survive
in dairy products. Cows in Minnesota
complain about farmers with cold hands.
460
Below (absolute
zero on the Kelvin Scale): All atomic
motion stops. People in Minnesota start
asking, "Cold 'nuff for ya?"
500
Below: Hell freezes. The Minnesota Vikings win the Super Bowl.
Minnesotans know what the cold and dead of
winter is like. But really, so do all
people. So does anyone who sits alone
in a hospital bed, or a prison cell. So
does anyone who sits alone with his or her grief and loneliness. So does anyone who sits alone with their
guilt, and sins, their shame before God and people. So does anyone. Cold of winter
and darkness everywhere: we all know what that can feel like.
The point is that this Rose, this Christ
child came into all the world’s cold winters, he came to dispel all the
darkness of our souls—not just to expose us, but to expose himself. We’re not exactly freezing here in western
Washington, but I noticed that my rose bush isn’t blooming. There’s a reason for that. So, think of a tender rose blooming in the
dead of winter. —It’s tender
petals—vulnerable to cold and snow.
God exposed himself through Jesus
Christ. He made himself completely
vulnerable, and gave himself to us, saying, “Here, I am your God! I love you!
Love me, hold me!”
Think of this: take your darkest moment,
think of your greatest sin, or your greatest fear. Now, look down and cup your hands and imagine this Rose, this
tender, fragrant Rose of Jesus Christ, held in your hands: God in your hands, and going right to your
heart. The fragrance, the sweetness
that fills the air has a name. It is
the forgiveness that comes from the Rose held in your hands.
Let’s sing stanzas 2 and 3…
Isaiah ‘twas foretold it,
the Rose I have in mind,
With Mary we behold it, the
virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright,
she bore to men a Savior, when half-spent was the night.
This Flower, whose fragrance
tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious
splendor the darkness everywhere.
True Man, yet very God, from
sin and death he saves us and lightens every load.
Look again at our New Testament lesson from
Hebrews. “Long ago God spoke in many
ways through the prophets, but now by his Son, through whom he already created
the universe.” And look at that next
sentence: “He, Jesus Christ, is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact
imprint of God’s very being.”
God has been telling us that he loves
us. God has been offering relationship
and forgiveness from the beginning of time.
And yet, even in scripture (even more outside of scripture) God has been
accused of vicious and horrible things.
We have always had a tendency to judge God in light of these things, in
the presence of whatever is happening at the time, in this moment. We lose track of the real goal and purpose
behind all that God has made, and done and said. Because God is so high and untouchable, we lose track of his
tenderer, personal love, passion, and his emotions for us. We imagine that he cannot really relate to
us.
But now, because of Jesus Christ, humanity is
forever imprinted in God. God will
always have those scars imprinted in his wrists and ankles. We have seen and will always remember how he
made himself vulnerable as a child, held to Mary’s breast, a boy in Joseph’s
woodshop, a man who died on the cross for the crime of loving his people,
loving with the full strength and passion of God.
As John wrote in our Gospel lesson: he was in
the beginning with God; he was God. He
became flesh and lived among us, to deliver the love of God in person. We have seen his glory. We have seen the truth. And we have seen the grace of God.
God’s promises are forever. Even if it takes thousands upon thousands of
years, God will keep all his promises.
He can take all the time he needs; he’s got all of eternity to work
with.
And, because of Jesus Christ, so do we. Amen.
Let’s finish by singing together the last stanza of “Lo, How a Rose.”
O Savior, Child of Mary, who
felt our human woe;
O Savior, King of glory, who
dost our weakness know,
Bring us at length we pray
to the bright courts of heaven, and to endless Day. Amen.
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