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INJ
St Matthew 21:1-9
'Came, Comes, Coming'
Divine Service
The 1st Sunday in Advent (Ad Te Levavi) | December 2nd, 2007
Dear Saints,
Happy New Year! The first Sunday in Advent marks the beginning of the church calendar, another year of grace. It might seem strange, at first glance, that we have as our Gospel reading appointed from ancient times for this day in the church year the account of Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This is the Palm Sunday Gospel, the beginning of Holy Week, but here we have t on the first Sunday in Advent.
There are a few things to say about this which I would normally discuss in Bible Class, but I think it is important for us to be on the same page as we rejoice together, this year, in the comfort of the Lord's gifts.
First, a few words about the season of Advent itself. The name itself comes from the Latin word for 'coming', and in the season of Advent we hear of the three-fold coming of our Lord Jesus, that He has come, still comes, and is coming again. This is how Jesus is described in the opening vision of the Revelation, the One who is, who was, and who is to come. [see Revelation 1:8, etc.]
In fact, we will see that the word that binds all the Gospel readings in Advent together is this word: “come”. In the next four weeks we will see that word having a prominent role in the Gospel readings. Today we heard it in verses 5:
"Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'" [Matthew 21:5]
And also verse 9:
And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" [Matthew 21:9]
So we begin Advent with the preaching of the coming of Jesus.
What Advent is not, then, is a getting ready for the birth of Jesus, as if we try to pretend that Jesus hasn't yet been born, or get into some kind of “Old Testament mindset” or some other mental game like that. It seems like this is how many people treat Advent, and then Christmas becomes some sort of reenactment of the birth of Jesus. This makes about as much sense as your mother putting a pillow under her shirt and reenacting her labor pains to celebrate your birthday. That is not what Advent should be, it is not what Advent is. There is no pretending in the Lord's church, with the church year, with the liturgy, with our worship. Things are real. Our sin is real, and the forgiveness of our sins is real. When we worship on Good Friday we don't try to forget that the Resurrection happened, and when we worship in Advent we don't try and forget that Jesus has already been born.
So Advent is not a season of preparation for the birth of Jesus, it is a season of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, and of all the different ways that Jesus comes to us. So it is no trouble to have a text from Passion Week, a text closely connected to His passion and death, for this is the very reason that Christ came in the flesh: that He might suffer in our place. And the Lord Jesus continues to come to us now in His Word preached and heard and believed to deliver to us the gift of eternal life won for us on the cross, and Jesus will come again with glory to judge the quick and the dead based on the finished work of the cross.
This should get us all on the same page regarding Advent. May the Lord grant us a blessed preparation for our Christmas feasting.
But this Sunday isn't just the first Sunday in Advent, it is also the first Sunday in the church year, and as such this text of the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem stands as the banner text of all Christian worship. It's like the streamer that stretches across main street in many small towns “Welcome to Kerrville, TX, Heart of the Hill Country”, or the sign on the state line, “Welcome to Beautiful Colorado”, or the first line of a book or poem. It introduces you to everything that will follow, so it is with the triumphal entry of our Lord into Jerusalem, it tells us what happens every time the church gathers throughout the year, every time we gather in the Lord's name for the Divine Service. This text is an indication of everything to follow.
And what is it that happens? Answer: our Lord Jesus comes to us as our humble King and Savior with all the gifts of His cross. This is why, by the way, we sing the same festive song of welcome to Jesus as did the crowns on that very first Palm Sunday. “Blessed is He, blessed is He, blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.” Just before the Lord's Prayer and the Lord's Words of Institution in the Lord's Supper. This altar and this font and this lectern and pulpit are the places where the Lord comes to you and me with His Name, that is, with the forgiveness of all of our sins and all the blessings of heaven.
So it is that we could write the words of this Gospel text over the door to the church: “See, your King comes to You, righteous and having salvation.” This is wonderful beyond comprehension, that the Lord of all comes here, to 1345 Macon St in Aurora, CO, to be with us and freely give us the gifts of His Kingdom!
And this gets us, at last, to the text which teaches us the true worship of Jesus. Christianity is different than every other religion. Every other creed and worship out there is always talking about man's ascent and search for god or the good. Every false doctrine is about what we must do or think or experience to reach bliss. “There's the ladder to heaven, now all you have to do is climb it.” We what to earn or deserve heaven, earn or deserve God's love or approval, seek out and find the way to perfection. And it doesn't matter if your Jewish or Muslim or Hindu or atheist or pagan or gnostic or a plain old-fashioned heathen, it's all a matter of do-it-yourself religion.
And this false teaching is not just out there, it's in here. This false doctrine, dear saints, is our native religion, the creed even of our own flesh. We, too, want to impress God, earn His approval or pay back His goodness. This is why we find so many so-call Christian Churches who think that Jesus puts us on the path of salvation and now it's up to us to finish.
And you see why this appeals to the flesh. I'm a Christian because I've tried harder, prayed more, fasted longer, served more. No. Our worship and faith is not a matter of climbing up to God, clamoring into heaven. The true faith that brings life and salvation and the comfort of God's promises is this: our God comes down to us. He marches into our midst, into or homes and church and ears and heart. He comes by His Word and water and bread and wine. He comes with His promises and gifts. He comes to us.
This is the difference between Moses killing the slave master to rescue his brother and Moses standing still as God splits the Red Sea. It is the difference between the son groveling and begging his father for a servants place in the house and the father running down the road to sweep up his prodigal son with his arms of mercy and welcoming him with an undeserved ring and the feast of fatted calf. It is the difference a lost sheep fruitlessly searching for home and the shepherd trudging through all to find the sheep. It is the difference between the law and the Gospel. We do not find God, come to God; He finds us, He comes to us.
St Paul gives us the Gospel like this:
But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [Romans 10:6-9]
So we rejoice in the triumphal entry of our Lord into Jerusalem, for this is not far away from us. He continues to come in His humility and with His grace and mercy for you, to rescue and deliver you and me from our sin and death, and to give us the forgiveness of all of our sins.
This is our joy and sure hope in Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter, our sure hope in health and in sickness, in joy and in sadness, our sure hope in life and in death and even into eternal life.
See, your King comes. Rejoice, your King comes. Be of good cheer, your King comes to you, righteousness and having salvation.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
Hope Lutheran Church | Aurora, CO
