Advent 1 - Ad Te Levavi - 11-28-10

The Church Season of Advent
Advent 1 – Ad Te Levavi
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI  November 28, 2010

“The Advent of Our Lord”

Readings:   
    Jeremiah 23:5-8       
    Psalm 24       
    Romans 13:8-14       
    Matthew 21:1-9       

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen

The text for today’s message is as recorded in the Gospel lesson from the 21st chapter of Matthew, especially the following verses,

Matthew 21:1-9 (ESV)

1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 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.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 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!”

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

It is a new season, a new church year, the paraments which adorn the church have changed to the royal color of purple.  The Advent of our Lord is upon us, and how do we hear that Jesus Christ the Lord of lords, the King of kings approaches the Holy city of Jerusalem?  Scripture tells us, “Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden..”(v. 5) Oh that we could re-create that day.  And some do try to re-create the day by visiting the Holy Land, trying to seek out the path and to walk where Jesus walked.  They wish to see the road where He walked into the city.  And people wish to see where He was tried, convicted and crucified.  They seek to find Jesus by lighting a candle, by going to a grotto and by praying the right words.  They think to themselves, If only I could see where those crowds were gathered, if only I could bring home a little dust from the Holy Land.  But Jesus can not be sifted from the sands of Jerusalem, nor captured by our hands or our imaginations. No, your King, Jesus Christ comes to you.

But what of this season of Advent, what about this Christ who would be our King?  It has been said, “Nothing is more terrible than activity without insight.”(Thomas Carlyle)  And those words are indeed timely in this first week of Advent.  We are acutely aware of the busyness of this season.  Thanksgiving is barely over and in only a few weeks Christmas will have sped away ever so quickly as it has always done in the past.  Engulfed with our preparations for Christmas, the pace of our already busy lives tends to accelerate as we rush from one thing to the next.  There are projects to complete, appointments to keep, and commitments to honor.  The time is short.  Indeed, “activity without insight is most to be feared.”

And that is why we need this season of Advent, for it brings God’s insight, His eternal Word into our fleeting activities.  It forces us to prepare for what we have, and prepare for what will come.  Advent puts our lives into focus in that royal announcement spoken by the Prophet Zechariah and fulfilled on Palm Sunday: “Behold your King is coming to you...lowly and riding on a donkey.”(v. 5) 

Thank God Jesus did not have to wait in Heaven until we had time to receive Him.  No, He does not wait until we have time, Jesus is so bold that He interrupts our lives with His coming.  For if He did not come to us, we would never come to Him.  He comes to us. In one of his Advent sermons, Martin Luther made this point so clearly.  He says “This is what is meant by ‘thy king cometh.’  You do not seek Him, but He seeks you.  You do not find Him, He finds you.  For preachers come from Him, not from you; their sermons come from Him, not from you; and where He does come, you remain outside; and where there is no Gospel there is no God, but only sin and damnation, free will may do, suffer, work, and live as it may and can.  Therefore you should not ask, where to begin to be godly; there is no beginning, except where the king enters and is proclaimed.” (Lenker, N. Sermons of Martin Luther 1:27)

All of Advent is summarized in this simple declaration: “Behold you King is coming to you.”  In fact, the word “Advent” simply means “coming.”   And that, to us means incarnation, the season of Advent weaves together all three “comings” of our Messiah.  He comes to us incarnate in the flesh, born of the virgin Mary to ride into Jerusalem and suffer and die as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  The same Lamb of God now comes to us in the preaching of His Word, in Holy Baptism, and with His body and blood  in the Sacrament of the Altar.  He comes now in time under these lowly means to bestow on us the forgiveness of sins won at Calvary.  The Lord who comes to us today, hidden beneath the covering of work, water, bread, and wine, will come uncovered on the Last Day in the full splendor of His glory to be our judge  The only way to be prepared to receive Him on that Day is to embrace Him now by faith.

He comes to you now in your need.  Listen again to the words of the Prophet: “See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation.”  Our king Jesus Christ has what we lack.  Our sin has made us unrighteous and strangers to God’s salvation. It has been written “Man feels...shame because he lacks something”(Dietrich Bonhoeffer p. 20). Shame is the recognition that our sin has divorced us from God; that we lack unity with Him.  Shame is what Adam and Eve experienced after their fall into sin when their eyes were opened and “instead of seeing God” they saw themselves.  God’s law shows us our shame.  It shows us what we lack, revealing to us our failure to “fear, love, and trust” in the Triune God above all things.  The law shows us that we are naked before God, lacking his righteousness and salvation. 

More that that, the law shows us that the fig leaves which we try to use to over our nakedness and hide or shame, will not work.  God sees right through every futile attempt at self-justification.  We cannot defend ourselves from God.  Our legs are not long enough to out run Him and our arms are not strong enough to push Him away. There is no place to hide from Him.  To push Jesus Christ away is to hold your life to yourself as though it were your possession to do with as you please, and that may be called self justification, but really and most simply it is hell.

“Behold, your King is coming to you.”  Jesus Christ does not come to terrify you with your sin or to cast you into hell.  He comes with righteousness and salvation.  He comes to save you and take away your shame.  Jesus comes to you to comfort you in your time of sorrow, to fill your heart with joy even as this world would attack you in body and soul.  Jesus Christ comes to give you that which you are lacking and in so doing God did not leave us in our shame.  Christ Jesus died for us while we were still His enemies.  He died to reconcile us with God, to cover our shame with His own righteousness.  He is the God who comes to us!  He comes not to condemn or destroy us but to forgive us and save us.

And how shall we meet Him?  We receive Jesus Christ by faith, trusting in His merciful words as He comes to us with His body and blood.  See your King comes to you, no longer on a lowly donkey but in His Word and with His body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine.  He comes today to take away your shame.  It is the Advent of our Lord and Jesus comes to restore you to the joy of His salvation.  Cast off your fears, your sorrow, and your grief, your Lord comes and He comes for you, so sing with your soul freed of any fears of sin and death, sing and rejoice in the Advent of Jesus Christ,  “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!”  Amen.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

+SDG+