December 23, Rev. Josef Muench

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Stat crux dum volvitur orbis. The cross stands still while the world turns. So runs the famous motto of the Carthusians.

In Psalm 46, however, the world isn’t merely turning, rotating peacefully on its axis. Rather, the earth itself “gives way,” and mountains are “moved into the heart of the sea,” whose waters “roar and foam.” The climax comes in verse 6: “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; [God] utters his voice, the earth melts.”

The divine voice that called all creation into existence in the beginning now causes the earth to melt. The roaring, foaming waters that once engulfed the earth in the flood now swallow the mountains once again.

This picture truly is appropriate for Advent. For in this season, we not only prepare to welcome Jesus at His incarnation. We are also reminded that He is “coming again in glory to judge both the living and the dead.” Yet, as the Carthusian motto reminds us, when the world around us turns—yes, even when it trembles, totters, and melts—the cross of Jesus stands still. Is this cross not the refuge, the strength, the immovable fortress of which Psalm 46 speaks? Is not the bloody water of Jesus’ pierced side the river whose streams make glad the city of God? What do you have to fear, O Christian, soaked in this baptismal water? Even when the world is in tumult, listen to Jesus: “straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).

Rev. Josef Muench

Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church, Twin Valley, Minnesota

Christ Academy: College Student 2014–16 Christ Academy: High School Proctor 2016–17