Good Despair Versus Ultimate Despair?

Text: Matthew 3:1-12

In 1518, Martin Luther famously wrote, 

"It is certain that man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive the grace of God." (Heidelberg Thesis 18)  

Listen to this one more time, 

"It is certain that man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive the grace of God." (Heidelberg Thesis 18)  

Likewise, Christians are not ready to receive the Season of Christmas without first going through the Season of Advent.  

Before we contemplate this, we should take a moment to mention that Advent is very different from Christmas. For starters, during the Season of Advent, the church colors change to violet or blue. Regardless of the color, it is important to remember that Advent is a season of repentance, waiting, and watching—looking forward in hope.

Perhaps you might be thinking to yourself that Advent is kind of like Lent.  If so, you are correct.  Both Advent and Lent are times of preparation.  That is to say, both Advent and Lent properly prepare us for Christmas and Easter.  Just as we must go through the season of Lent to prepare for Easter, we must go through the Season of Advent to prepare for Christmas.  

But this raises the question, how are we to prepare to receive the Season of Christmas during Advent?  In a word, you and I must utterly despair of our own abilities.  Indeed, we must despair of our own abilities.  You see, without understanding our need for a Savior, we will never appreciate the gift of a Savior.  

Think of it this way: the Season of Advent teaches us how Christ came, comes, and will come.  That is to say, there is a threefold focus during the Season of Advent on how Christ came to mankind in his birth, how He comes to mankind in His Word and Sacraments, and how He will come again on the great last day.  And so, Advent highlights the idea that the Messiah – Jesus Christ – must come to you and me.  He must draw near to us.  

Back to the question, though – how are we to prepare to receive the good news of the Season of Christmas?  The answer, again, is that we are to utterly despair of our own ability.  Or, let’s say it this way: we recognize that you and I cannot come to Jesus by our own reason or strength.    

And so, to properly prepare for the Season of Advent, we must not - to any degree whatsoever – assume that we have the ability to ascend to Christ for Salvation.  Doing your best, doing what is in you, or doing just a little bit does not get you one inch closer to your salvation, for if it did, then you would not need Jesus to come to you. 

Dear friends, without Advent, you and I easily think that our ability, intellect, good deeds, and superb moral qualities somehow inch us closer to Jesus.  But it does not whatsoever.  In other words, if you see something positive in your life that makes you feel as if this positive thing would make you stand out in the crowd – that it would somehow give a reason for the Christ to draw close to you, well… you are severely deceived.  You must repent and despair of your grand delusion of self-importance.  You must despair of your supposed strength. You and I must not be so arrogant to think that we are able to strive for the grace of Christ or somehow lure the favor of God upon us by our trickery.    

Instead, we need to contemplate the Season of Advent – we must hear from John the Baptist and despair of our abilities, for the only thing that our abilities will accomplish is a fast ticket to hell itself.  After all, it is our own abilities that make us poor miserable sinners to begin with

Before we get too carried away, we must pause here to understand what it means to properly prepare for the Season of Christmas.  We must understand what it means to despair of our abilities.  

You see, Advent is not about bringing you and me to ultimate despair – the kind of despair that Judas had.  If Advent were to do this, well… there would be no hope.  There would be no anticipation.  There would be no waiting and watching.  And so, when we say that we must despair of our ability before we are prepared to receive the grace of God, we are not resorting to saying there is no hope.  Despairing of our ability is not throwing the towel, grabbing a shovel, and digging our grave of death.  No, this is ultimate despair.  Instead, to properly despair of our ability is to give up on our abilities, strength, and intellect and look outside of ourselves to something else with hope.  Please do not let this point slip by you.  To despair of yourselves is to give up on your own spiritual resumes and your spiritual huffing and puffing and look outside of yourselves to the hope that comes in Christmas – Christ Jesus.   

And so, going through the Season of Advent is not going the way of ultimate despair – believing that there is no hope beyond our abilities.  Instead, to properly prepare for Christmas is to despair of our abilities and look beyond ourselves to the coming Christ – the Christ who comes with grace and truth.   

Baptized Saints, just as there is no need for the Gospel without the Law and there is no need for a Savior without understanding one's own sin, we cannot be prepared for Christmas without reflecting on Advent.  Advent empties us of the delusion that we can save ourselves.  But that is not the only thing it does.  Advent then elevates our chins, points our eyes, and grants us anticipation and hope that Christ Jesus comes to you and me with grace and truth.  Indeed, Advent does not grant us ultimate despair but a Godly despair of our abilities and a Godly hope that the Messiah comes to you and me so that we might be His own.  

In the name of Jesus.  Amen.