Word for Word

by Rev. Ron Pederson
King Of Grace Lutheran Church

“God hides behind masks.”  He is a hidden God. And certainly it is true. The prophet Isaiah writes: “Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel.”
“God hides behind masks” and He doesn’t do it to put on some kind of show to entertain people. It isn’t that He’s going to a Halloween party. And it’s not that He wants to scare the children. No, He has a much greater purpose. You see, if God came to us, like He really is, in His unveiled majesty, the Bible says that we would all die at the sight of Him. When Moses asked to see the Lord’s glory the Lord said: “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live. And when the Lord gave Moses the 10 Commandments the mountain trembled and smoke bellowed up and the people said to Moses: “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” And St. Paul says in 1 Tm: “God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.”  
“God hides behind masks” and He does it for a reason. He wants to make Himself available to all of us. He hides His glory so that He can come to us poor, miserable, sinners and won’t die but rather have life, eternal life.
We see Him like this tonight in a manger. There in a manger we see God hiding His divine majesty. There was God in a trough of hay surrounded with sheep and cattle. There in that pile of hay was Yahweh, The Lord God of Israel, the Creator and Ruler of universe. Yes, at Christmas time we certainly see God hiding behind a mask – behind the mask of humility. And the reason is because He loves us so much. As the hymn-writer says: “He whom the sea and wind obey doth come to serve the sinner in great meekness. Thou God’s own Son with us art one, Doth join us and our children in our weakness.”
God hid behind a mask at that first Christmas and He still does it today. Today we see Him hiding Himself in His Word. Today in common, ordinary, language He hides Himself in the manger of His Word. In His Word He tells us about our sin. The prophet Jere says: “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?” For as Jesus said: “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”
But God doesn’t leave us in our sin. He doesn’t stop there. He also comes to us in His Word of Gospel. In the Gospel He tells us that on the cross God punished, not us, but Jesus for our sin. And because of that you and I have the complete and full forgiveness of every last one of our sins – forgiveness that is ours as a free faith by faith alone.
God still hides behind masks today. Like He did at that first Christmas God hides Himself today in the manger of Holy Baptism. There with common, ordinary water together with the Word, He washes all our sins away.  God’s Words about baptism are just as certain as the angel’s words to the shepherds that night. For He says to us through His messenger St. Peter: “Baptism doth also now save you.” And again: “Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins.”
God still hides behind masks today. Like He did at that first Christmas God hides Himself today in the manger of Holy Communion. For there hidden beneath common, ordinary bread and wine is the true body and blood of Christ. Just as that little child in the manger was God Himself, so too the bread and wine are the very body and blood of Christ. His Word is clear: “This is my body, this is my blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins.”
“God hides behind masks” and certainly that is true.  And nowhere is this more evident than at that first Christmas.  That little baby in the manger was/is Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the same One who created the heavens and earth in six days.
But there we see God hiding His divine majesty – hiding it behind the mask of humility. And why? Because He loves us so much. He wanted to make Himself available to all of us in a way where we wouldn’t die but live and live eternally.
And He still does it today in the manger of His Word and Sacraments.
May God grant it to all of us for Jesus sake and God grant you a very blessed Christmas. Amen.