Sermon - Advent Midweek 1, 2024
Mosaic of Ambrose in the church in Milan, made while Ambrose was still living
Make here Your home
History of Ambrose
The Son of God chose to come to man in a humble virgin birth
Many do not receive Him
Let us receive Him
Our theme hymn for Advent this year is a hymn by Ambrose of Milan. If you picked up one of the little Feasting and Fasting booklets I put together, you may have read a little about Ambrose already. I would like, however, to briefly introduce you to Ambrose since I’ve found that reflecting on the stories of our greatest hymns can make singing the hymn that much richer.
Ambrose grew up an aristocrat, trained in government and rhetoric, and midlife became officially involved in the government like his father. Ambrose was a catechumen of Christianity, but hadn’t been baptized. Nevertheless, when the city of Milan was choosing their next bishop, the debate became quite heated, and Ambrose had to attend the assembly in an attempt to quiet them down. In the midst of that unruly crowd, a child’s voice cried out: “Ambrose!” The assembly followed the child’s voice and chose Ambrose as their next bishop.
Remember Ambrose was just a catechumen and hadn’t yet received baptism! At first he protested and fled from the city, but in time he was convinced to return, he was subsequently baptized and ordained and installed as bishop of Milan. He sold all of his possessions (and remember he was upper class and had much), and devoted himself to untiring study of the Word.
Ambrose was a stalwart man, faithful in his convictions of the truth. He defended the church against the heresy of Arianism, which falsely taught that Jesus is not fully God. On one occasion, the empire favored the Arians and demanded Ambrose to accept them. Ambrose refused, stating that the state ought not interfere in matters of doctrine. So the empire sent soldiers to enforce the demand, but the people rallied to Ambrose, and they all gathered in the church in prayer and song. The music and prayers were so powerful that even the soldiers joined in singing!
On that note, one of Ambrose’s most significant contributions to the church is that of song. Ambrose is considered the father of Latin hymnody in the West. Before Ambrose songs were only sung by individuals or pastors, but Ambrose introduced the people to singing psalms and hymns as well. Ambrose was even the author of a new kind of church music, which was straightforward enough that entire congregations were able to joyfully join in singing.
It is remarkable that the history of music is shaped by Christinaity; consider the Psalms (which are hymns) written by David, the injunction to sing by St. Paul, Ambrose introducing congregational music to congregations, John of Damascus (who is commemorated today) writing more hymns for the church, Martin Luther restoring congregational singing, or Johann Sebastian Bach (a Lutheran) laying down the rules of music which every musician still follows to this day.
One of Ambrose’s most famous hymns is our hymn this Advent: Savior of the Nations, Come. Here the hymn bids the Lord Jesus, the Virgin’s Son, to come and make His home among us. How remarkable that this is precisely what the Lord does! The Son of God chose to come to man in a humble virgin birth. “When the fullness of time had come, God sent for His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
This truly is worthy of marveling over for a moment. God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Creator of every creature, the One who sustains all things, was born of woman pure and fresh. The humble Lord was born of a virgin, born in a stable among the animals, grew up among the ordinary folks, ate and drank and slept and did the normal human stuff, entered Jerusalem on a lowly donkey, was arrested and crucified upon a cross, was buried in a tomb. Isn’t that incredible that He chose such a birth! He’s God, and yet His throne was a womb and a cross.
He chose this birth, born in human flesh and blood, born under the curse of the law, in order to redeem sinful mankind who are under the law. Born under the law, He fulfilled the law in its entirety, living perfectly and without sin, yet bearing the guilt of every sinner on the tree. Though perfectly righteous, He bore our sins and suffered the wrath of God in our stead. In so doing, His sacrifice has earned for us the right to be received into God’s family as His sons. I say sons specifically, because the inheritance was through the first-born son, and we have that inheritance; all that is Jesus’ is ours. But more so because when the Father sees us, He looks at us through Jesus. Instead of seeing us in our sins, He sees us as holy and righteous as Jesus, and Christ’s coming and sacrifice has made that true for us. Jesus has truly made here His home.
Nevertheless, even though Jesus has made His home here among us, many of His own people do not receive Him. This was evidenced by the stones people attempted to throw at Him and the crowds who shouted for His crucifixion. This is still evidenced today by those who refuse to listen to His teachings, who reject Him as their King, and want no part of Christ. So many look at Him, they see His bloodied body on a cross, they see His controversial teachings, they see the implications of His Word on their lives, and they don’t want Him to make His home among them.
But let that not be said of us! May our prayer always be sung upon our lips that Jesus, our Savior, would make here His home! May He dwell among us and within us. Let His word and His teachings take root in our minds and hearts, let us gladly receive His teachings even when they’re controversial. Like Ambrose, commit yourself to a fervent study of scripture, and be rich in Christ’s word and not worry so much about the wealth of this world. Though we are so poor and lowly and we do not deserve it, let us receive the Lord Jesus under the roof of our mouth in the holy sacrament, and let our bodies be living temples of the Lord. When the Lord makes His home in us, let our lips be filled with His praises, our minds be filled with His phrases, and our hands delivering His good graces.
May God the Father be praised who sent His Son conceived by the Holy Spirit, to welcome us poor lowly creatures into His heavenly home.
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