First Sunday in Advent
Jeremiah 23:5-8 & Matthew 21:1-9
The lights sparkling on the homes around Tomah signal that Christmas is coming.
The number of emails you’re getting is warning you that Christmas is coming.
The change in music on the radio alerts you that Christmas is coming.
The colors adorning the altar, the candles in the wreath, all announce, Christmas is coming.
But it’s not here yet.
It's hard for us to understand because we live in a world that rushes everything. We’re in a rush to grow up, to get to the store, and to jump into relationships and the gifts that come with marriage before the vows have been said…
However, today we begin the season of Advent, a time for slowing down, prayer, and meditation. To review, the word Advent means “to come.”
The Old Testament reading from Jeremiah provides the well-known prophecy of God the Father raising a righteous branch, Jeremiah wrote,
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’
(Jeremiah 23:5-6)
Then two verses later, Jeremiah says again,
Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the LORD lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.” (Jeremiah 23:7-8)
The thing about prophecies is that they are always looking forward; they focus on what is to come. As Paul wrote to the Colossians, “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” (Colossians 2:17)
The words of Jeremiah are a shadow of what will come, namely, the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, born to the Virgin Mary in the little town of Bethlehem. He is the righteous branch, who will take the curse of sin and death, your sin and death, to the tree of the cross, so from it, His righteousness, His forgiveness might be extended and declared upon you.
In a way, the Christian is always hesitantly and slowly walking in the shadows of the cross; the cross guides you through this life, including the sadness you feel, the grief you experience, the anger filling your heart, the disappointment with family and friends, and the sense of abandonment.
While these instances are all emotions you feel, they are also the shadows surrounding you; they are the crosses you bear.
However, like the people of Israel, you lack patience as these crosses weigh on you. Israel was never patient. They wanted to save themselves. So you try to save yourself by taking the burdens of life into your own hands.
But if you reflect on the Old Testament readings today, the cross of Jesus is ultimately what leads the offspring of Israel to dwell in their own land, the land of milk and honey, the new heaven and the new earth, paradise.
Yet, those who lined the streets that first Palm Sunday did not truly understand the prophecies of God; instead, they sought an earthly king, an earthly kingdom. This Jesus, the Messiah, was to come and fulfill their prayers and petitions of Hosanna, now, to save them from their earthly oppressors in a rather immediate manner.
Like you, they wanted to see instant gratification. They wanted instant relief. But can you rush God? Can you make Him work on your timeframe?
Looking back at Scriptures, the fulfillment of prophecies rarely happened instantly. This serves as a good reminder and lesson today, as the world rushes into Christmas without taking time to prepare for Christ's coming and its true meaning. Christians learn and relearn the discipline of patience, and how prayer strengthens your faith to wait on the coming of Jesus Christ.
This is why we started the Divine Service today by prayerfully reciting the Litany. This historic prayer, which often replaces the Prayer of the Church because of its length, dates back to the fifth century. Martin Luther appreciated it so much that he created two different versions. Recently, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod has highlighted the importance of praying the Litany not only during the Divine Service but also at home.
Why?
Because this lengthy prayer helps us learn to pray and petition God to have mercy on us, it teaches us patience, which is invaluable during a season of the year when patience is seldom found.
It also teaches dependence.
For this reason, just as the true exercise of the Advent season is countercultural, the slowness to decorate, the wait to set up a tree, or fill its trunk with presents, also makes a life of prayer countercultural.
But your prayers are the expression of a faith placed in Jesus Christ, who comes to redeem the world from sin and death. Which if you take a step back and listen to the words of the liturgy and the Divine Service, it’s one long exercise of prayer petitioning God to come to us, to lead us, and bring us into His eternal presence.
Just listen to the words we will pray as we prepare to receive the flesh and blood of Jesus in a few minutes, and I will speak the words, “As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” And you respond, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
And He is coming, but not in the way the world expects Christmas to approach. Instead, He’s coming through His Word, at this rail in the Sacrament of the Altar, where He gathers you with the whole company of heaven, and on the last day, to gather you, His Israel, His Church, to dwell with Him in the land He has prepared for you, forever.
What a glorious celebration this shall be.
Isn’t this something? The whole exercise of the Christian life is looking forward to the end, to the coming of Christ.
Yes, Christmas is coming, but it’s not here yet. Instead, this is the time to learn the discipline of faithful patience, to pray for Christ’s coming to His people. Let us remain focused on this Advent season so we might rightly take to heart how the liturgy of prayer prepares you for your Savior’s arrival. +INJ+
