Advent 1

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

“Lift up your hearts.” “We lift them to the Lord.” These familiar eucharistic sentences remind us that it is not our own self-assessment that regulates whether our hearts could be lifted up to the Lord. Our heart condition is part of why the Lord comes to us in His Holy Word and His Holy Meal, why He came as a child two millennia ago, and why He promises to return in glory on t

he Last Day.

He comes the broken heart to bind,

  The bleeding soul to cure,

And with the treasures of His grace

  To enrich the humble poor. 

(Philip Doddridge, Lutheran Service Book 349:3)

Christ Jesus’ coming is directed to hearts just like ours—broken, shattered, wounded, labored, limping, pained, bleeding, stressed, and often overwhelmed. The season of Advent lends itself to an appreciation of how Jesus works on our hearts. He is building Jerusalem, gathering together the outcasts of Israel, healing the brokenhearted and binding up their wounds (Psalm 147). This building work continues among us even as wars, rumors of wars, sickness, distress, disenchantment, disengagement, and general disgust abound. None of these separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8) and none prevent Him from working on our hearts by His Spirit through His Word during this season of repentance, anticipation, and hope.

“Lift up your hearts.” “We lift them to the Lord.” At the altar, we are gifted with the precious Body and Blood of our Divine Redeemer who suffered and died on the cross for our sin and who rose from the dead so that we may have life in His name, all by His magnanimous grace. He changes our heart song from pining sadness “into ever-springing gladness” as He blots out each misdeed and pardons us from every stain (Lutheran Service Book 347:2). “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,” the prophet Isaiah reminds us (Isaiah 1:18 ESV). Jesus does the healing work. Jesus does the forgiving work. Jesus does the restoring work. Jesus does the renewing work. He does it all for you.

“Lift up your hearts.” “We lift them to the Lord.” As we are “Making Disciples for Life” by “Engaging the World with the Gospel of Hope,” the Lord is working on our hearts. Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, we rejoice that our heart condition is something to which He graciously attends as He builds His Church and promises to return in glory.  

I am praying for you. The Lord bless and keep you always.

Peace and hope in Christ Jesus,

Bishop Taylor

LCMS Atlantic District