Clothed With the Garments of Salvation
Isaiah 61:10-62:3
As many of you
know, this is my last Sunday here at Zion
as pastor. This will be what some people
would call my farewell sermon. As you
have come to know over the years, my sermons have never been centered in some
kind of political or social agenda. My
task as a Lutheran pastor has always been to preach the Word. The motto of Concordia Theological Seminary
where I studied for the pastoral ministry was “Preach the Word.” I have always taken that very seriously. When I began preparing for this Sunday
several weeks ago, I took a look at the Scripture readings appointed for today
and I had to smile. I don’t know if you
caught it when they were read before but there were some lines that would seem
to lend themselves well to my situation today.
The Epistle lesson started off with the words, “When the fullness of
time had come.” That would seem to speak
to a time to retire. The Gospel lesson
has the words of Simeon when he saw the Christ Child, “Lord now you are letting
your servant depart in peace.” This one
also could be applied to a final sermon.
However, to do that with either of those lessons would be taking them
out of context and twisting them to fit a different set of circumstances. To use Scripture out of its context is never
a good thing and it is not something I want to do today or any time I have the
privilege of preaching the Word.
Instead, I have
chosen the Old Testament lesson for today.
It expresses the joy that is in the heart of one who has come to
understand and appreciate the blessings of salvation that God has given to His
people. It expresses the joy that is in
my heart and I pray that you have that same kind of joy in your heart on this
Sunday after Christmas and throughout the year and throughout your life.
The prophet
Isaiah had the privilege to speak for God to call the people of Israel to
repentance but also to encourage the people in their times of difficulty. As he did that, he also was inspired by the
Holy Spirit to prophesy about the coming Messiah and what that would mean for
the people of God. This text starts with
the words, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with
the robe of righteousness.” Think of
what that means. The picture language is
not too hard to figure out. You know
what it means to be clothed. You know
what it means to be covered. This should
be the cry of every believer. I greatly
rejoice that I am clothed with the garments of salvation. I am covered with the robe of
righteousness. That truly is reason for
rejoicing.
The problem is
that in our world, even often in the church, the reason for our rejoicing is
not quite understood. To really
understand what this means you have to consider the opposite of what Isaiah is
saying. If you are not clothed with the
garments of salvation, you are left on your own. You would have to stand before
God with all of your sin showing. The
excuses that you try to make about your sinful behavior can not cover up the
reality of your sin. All the denials in
the world will not cover up your sinful nature.
The only thing that will allow you to stand before God is the garment of
salvation that has been purchased for you by your Savior, Jesus. Unfortunately there are many people who don’t
understand that. Human reason would tell
you that you have to stand before God on your own merits. Even if they are not perfect, your good
intentions ought to stand for something.
Your hard work ought earn you a few points. There’s not much comfort in that kind of
thinking. You would never be certain
that you had done enough. When there is
no security, there is no joy.
Often there is no
real appreciation for the great gift that we have been given in that garment of
salvation. That fact becomes obvious
when you observe people who have no joy in their life. One who does not appreciate the gift of
salvation is often one who is not willing to show love and forgiveness to
others. This shows itself in holding
grudges, ignoring those in need, and insisting on having your own way. There is also no rejoicing in a life that is
self-centered because others are always disappointing you.
If you saw a bit
of yourself in ether of those descriptions, you realize that you are still a
sinner. If you didn’t see yourself in
those descriptions you are probably not being honest with yourself because we are
all sinners. We all need to hear the
message of Law and Gospel that reminds us of our sin and then brings us the
sweet message of love and forgiveness that is ours in Christ Jesus. By His perfect life and His death on the
cross, we have been clothed with the garment of salvation. You have to remember that when this was
written, most people wore an inner garment and an outer garment that covered a
person completely. That is a good
picture of the kind of garment of salvation that Isaiah describes. Our sins are covered over completely by
Jesus. To make that even more clear,
Isaiah, is a way that was typical of Hebrew poetry, continues by saying that
God has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks
himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself
with her jewels. The robe of
righteousness covers over our imperfections with the perfection of Christ
Jesus. Think of how a bridegroom and his
bride adorn themselves. For a brief time
they appear before one another looking better than they ever have in their
lives. It is done to give the appearance
of wealth and beauty when perhaps there wasn’t much to start with. The robe of righteousness covers our
unrighteousness but it is not just for a brief time. It is for eternity. Covered in Christ’s righteousness we can
stand before God and He sees us as righteous because Jesus has done all that is
necessary to make that possible. When
you understand and appreciate how wonderful that blessing is, you can’t help
but be joyful.
With Isaiah you
can rejoice greatly. That joyful spirit
will be evident in the way you live your life.
First of all, you will live with a thankful heart. Your thankfulness will show itself in the way
that you are willing to share with the Lord your time, your talents and your
resources to help carry that message of salvation out to the world, a world
that does not understand or appreciate the great blessing that comes from the
gift of the garments of salvation in which God has clothed you.
Secondly, your
joy will show itself in your willingness to serve the Lord and His church with
talents that each has been given for the building up of the church. Not all are gifted the same way but in every
church, the gifts are there to do the Lord’s work of expanding the kingdom of God
In verse 2 of
chapter 62, Isaiah mentions that the nations shall see your righteousness. People will notice the rejoicing that is in
your life when you understand and appreciate the garment of salvation and the
robe of righteousness that you wear.
They will see the difference that is made in your life. May that be an opportunity for you to witness
to your Savior Jesus who came into the world when the fullness of time had
come. May it also be a time for you to
say with Simeon, “Lord, now You are letting your servant depart in peace. My eyes have seen Your salvation.” It has been my privilege to proclaim that to
you here for nine years. It is my prayer
that you will continue to joyfully proclaim that message of righteousness and
salvation in your lives until the Lord calls you home. Amen.
Rev. Gerald Matzke
Zion Lutheran Church
Painesville, Ohio
1st Sunday after Christmas
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