Waiting For Jesus
St. Matthew 21:1-9
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
St. Matthew 21:4-5 4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… As we all know, the world is well into its swing to get into the Christmas season. A local radio station which, up until this year didn’t play 24/7 Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving, started already in mid-November. The candy corns from Halloween went on discount in some stores after the lights were up and the Christmas music started.
But while the world speeds toward Christmas – or should I say, “the holiday season” – the church quietly begins her observance of a new church year with Advent. Advent – also known as the “Jesus isn’t here just yet” season. And that begins, as we heard last Sunday and again tonight, with a Gospel reading not telling of any End Times events, but of Holy Week events! Why is it that while the world is wrapping itself in glitter and ornaments and Rudolph and Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree and Santa Baby – why, when all that is going on around us, is the church hearing about Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey? That’s Holy Week stuff. That’s the week Jesus goes to die!
Well, the reason is simple. Our life as the body of Christ is centered on just one person and His work – the death of Jesus for our sins and His resurrection from the dead. We start each new new church year with a vivid and somewhat startling reminder that the world waited a long time for her Savior to show up; and when He did, He came to do exactly that: to pay for our sins and save us from them.
Advent puts us in waiting mode: patient, thoughtful, reflective, and penitent waiting. The world, on the other hand, can’t wait. Gotta have it now. Gotta have instant gratification. And what the world wants is nothing really great anyway, just more stuff and sentimental memories. For heaven’s sake, just how many Hallmark Christmas movies are there?!? You’ll be sorry you asked, for one website listed 352 titles! And they’re all pretty much the same magical plot and theme. The world can have all that. The church, being in the world but not of it, awaits the coming of her Savior, not some romantic “home for the holidays” mush.
We celebrate Advent. We celebrate the waiting. The Scriptures tell of our Old Testament brothers and sisters in the faith who waited eagerly for the coming of the Savior. Abraham didn’t live to see it. Neither did Moses, Joshua, David or Isaiah. We think about their waiting and rejoice that we get to see their hopes and promises fulfilled by Jesus.
Since the Fall into sin, God’s promise is that He would send His Son to be born of a woman and save us from the eternal penalty for our sins. Advent reminds us that, just as we long for our Savior to come and put everything right again, so the people before us also longed for that. And since we have the testimony that Jesus was born and lived and died and rose again, Advent reminds us that our waiting is never in vain because the Lord always keeps His promises. He promised to send His Son, and He did. So we aim for Christmas and the celebration of the time when the Son of God who became man in the womb of the Virgin was revealed in His birth for the shepherds and angels to see and sing. In Advent, we wait for the coming of Christ at Bethlehem.
But Advent also reminds us to wait and expect Jesus to come and fulfill His promises. That baby was born for you. That baby grew up. He was baptized for you. He was tempted for you. He carried your sins for you. He was handed over for you. He was mocked for you. He was beaten for you. He was spit upon for you. He was scourged for you. He was dragged to Calvary for you. He was nailed to the cross for you and finally, He died for you. And He rose for you. His resurrection and ascension and all that He has done are yours. The world forgets about this, not that it ever even cared. The world rushes to Christmas and then, the next day, the toys are already forgotten and the gifts are put away or exchanged, and the top 40s are played on the radio again. And just like that, Christmas is over.
It was that way when the Lord came in the flesh. His people eagerly awaited Him; but when they saw that all He did was teach people to trust in Him, they quickly got tired of Him. And when He greatly disappointed them by not overthrowing the earthly rulers, they couldn’t wait to get rid of Him.
But all that He did, He did for them, and for you. They waited, and whether they knew it or not, their waiting was not in vain. The Savior came. In Advent, we await the coming of Good Friday and Easter.
Now we wait for the Lord until He comes again. But we expect Him to come now often. For the same Jesus who once came to His people in the prophecies of His Word and in a manger and on a donkey and on a cross – that same Jesus now comes to us in His church. He comes at the font to wash us and save us. He comes in the preaching and the absolution to forgive us. He comes in the Supper to live in us and raise us up at the Last Day.
The connection between Christ’s first coming in the flesh and His coming again in the flesh of His glory is His coming now in His Word and flesh for sinners to be saved. We know and believe that Jesus has come before. We know and believe that He will come again. In the meantime, we receive Him where He has promised to be: in His church. We await His coming by receiving Him now, for His first coming fulfilled the Promise that He would come and save us. And now His Gospel and holy sacraments are His pledge and promise that He will come again. In Advent, we receive the coming of our Lord in His church.
Finally, Jesus will come again in glory. He will come on the clouds of heaven. He will come with angels and trumpets and the Last Day and the end of the world. He will come that day to raise us from the dead and give us everlasting life. On that day, all that He has done for us will be plainly seen. On that day, the sheep will rejoice, and the virgins will welcome their bridegroom.
His coming is not far away. It may seem like it some days, but He is right here where He has promised to be. And He reminds us that He will be right back when He returns.
Until then, we live in faith and hope in the Son of God. Until then, we use Advent to slow things down a bit. While the world rushes to prepare for a day of unwrapping and being done with everything it has been trying to cover with glitter and paper, the Church, the Bride of Christ celebrates Advent.
Advent. Christ is coming. In Advent, we wait with joy for our Lord who is on His way and who will come again soon to deliver us from every evil and finally, even death. Happy New Church Year. Merry Advent!
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
