Matthew 21:1-9; Romans
13:8-14; Jeremiah 23:5-8
In the Name of the Father and of the
+ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Dearly
beloved, the Church of Jesus Christ is so out of step with the world that She
speaks a different language, She sings a different song, She values and reveres
different qualities and traits in Her members, She sees glory in weakness,
lowliness, and humility, She even follows a different calendar – Happy New
Year! Whereas Friday was the official kick-off of the secular holiday season
that many call “Christmas,” though they do not fear, love, and trust in Christ
or follow in His Way, the Church will observe a month-long penitential season
known as Advent, a time of repentance and humble and hopeful expectation, a
time in which we prepare for the Christ Mass, the annual celebration of Jesus’
incarnation, as we watch and wait for His Second Coming, even as we celebrate
and give thanks for His coming among us now in the Holy Eucharist. And so, out
of step with the world once again, we will refrain from singing Christmas hymns
and songs, we will refrain from Christmas trees and wreaths and ribbons, from
gifts, and feasts, and from Yuletide cheer. And, when Christmas finally comes
as we gather in darkness and celebrate the coming of the Light of the World
Jesus Christ, when the world has already chucked their trees to the curb and have
taken down their decorations and have resumed their godless striving for
material and fleshly pleasures, we will still be celebrating Christmas for
twelve more days and nights.
The
temptation to comply with and to acquiesce to the expectations of the world will
be simply enormous. And, that is why you must devote yourselves even more earnestly
this Advent season to hearing the Word of the Lord and to receiving His gifts. For,
this is how you keep your lamps full of the oil of faith and brightly burning that
those dwelling in darkness might see the Light of Christ shining in and through
you and come to Him. Even as Jesus is God’s gift to the world at Christmas, so
are you a gift of the Creator’s light and love, mercy, compassion, and
forgiveness to your neighbor. You will be tempted to follow in the path of the
world dwelling in darkness, but to do so is to fail to be the world’s light.
No, the Church of Jesus Christ is not like the world. Though She is in
the world, She is not of it. She is holy, sanctified, set apart – She is
different, just as Her Lord and King Jesus is different.
And so even
our Gospel reading today seems out of step and out of place. What has Palm
Sunday to do with Advent and Christmas, after all? Well, quite a lot actually.
In fact, today’s Gospel reading coalesces a number of Scriptural themes into
one – one man, one Christ, one Lord. The days were fairly dark for Israel in
the first century, nationally and culturally speaking. Their present occupation
by the Romans followed immediately upon the coattails of their preceding Greek
occupation. God had been silent for 400 years. For 400 years, no prophet of the
LORD had spoken to Israel. The last Word of the LORD came by the Prophet
Malachi, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and
awesome day of the Lord comes.” And, not long before that, Zechariah had
prophesied the Word that St. Matthew quotes in today’s Gospel lesson, “Say to
the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted
on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden’.” There was a time when
the children of Israel were full of joyful hope and expectation because of
these words, however, for the vast majority, that time had passed. Now there
remained but a faithful remnant who continued to watch and to wait in hopeful
expectation even as they lived out their vocations, doing what they were called
to do, what was necessary to do, as they waited. The hope they clung to in
tenacious faith was what sustained them through the dark days, months, and
years. Their hope made their sorrows less bitter and their joys more sweet.
Therefore,
when Jesus entered Jerusalem on the first day of the week, on Sunday, the 10th
day of Nisan, the day in which the Passover lambs were chosen for sacrifice,
the faithful remnant had ears to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ in fulfillment
of the prophecies of Zechariah and Malachi and many others. However, the vast
majority of Israel’s citizens had all but lost hope entirely. They were
hardened in their anger and hatred against their Roman oppressors and they were
divided as a people by religious sects and political parties. Their minds and
hearts were closed to the idea of a humble, gentle, and kind Messiah. What they
were looking for, hoping for, and demanding was a powerful king girded with
power and might who would lead the people in overthrow of their oppressors and
restore to Israel the power and the glory of King David’s reign. The manner of
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was just like many kings of Israel before Him, most
particularly Jehu. Jesus rode upon a colt of a donkey, on an animal that had
never been ridden before, as was typical for sacred processions. And, the
crowd, seeing these signs and remembering the prophecies, though interpreting
them according to their faith or hardness of heart, received Jesus that day as
their King. They laid down their cloaks before Him in humility and reverence
and they waved palm branches in the air as He passed while singing “Hosanna,”
that is, “Save us,” “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in
the Name of the Lord!” All received Him as their King that first day of the week,
Sunday the 10th of Nisan, the day in which the Passover lambs were
chosen for sacrifice. But, by the end of the week, there was no one who stood
by Him except His mother and John, and even they had lost hope.
Perhaps you
feel that way today. In many respects, these are dark times. There is
instability and uncertainty, conflict and strife all around us – politically,
economically, religiously, socially, morally, ethically, etc. Many respond to
uncertainty and fear by looking for a king, someone with power and authority,
be they good or evil, who will restore order and certainty. Be careful what you
ask for. The LORD has at many times permitted the people to have precisely what
they asked for, to reap what they sowed. Sometimes the LORD permits us to have
precisely what we have earned, merited, and deserved. Preserve us from this,
dear Father, for Jesus’ sake! However, we are not like those without hope.
Indeed, if Advent is about anything at all, it is about hope. But, what is
hope? We commonly use the word hope in order to express a desire for
something to happen in the future. However, our hope is undermined by an unspoken
sense of uncertainty and doubt. For example, “I hope that I don’t get sick
before Christmas.” “I hope that I’ll have enough money to pay my taxes in
April.” “I hope that the economy will improve in 2017.” All of these
expressions of hope are tainted with uncertainty that they will actually
happen. But, this is not how the word hope is used in the Scriptures,
and this is not what I mean when I say that Advent is a season of hope. In the
Scriptures, hope not only desires something good for the future; it expects it
to happen. And, it not only expects it to happen; it is confident that it will
happen. There is a moral certainty that the good we expect and desire will be
done.
“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.” There is no sense of uncertainty in this
prophecy. In fact, it is stated with the sense that it is a done deal, that, in
the providence and wisdom of the LORD it is already accomplished. “Behold, your
King is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal
of a beast of burden.” No “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts” about that! That is hope, a
desire for something good and the full expectation and certainty that it will
happen. That is the hope we express and confess and take comfort in during
Advent, and throughout all of the Church’s Year of Grace. We do not worship a
God who is far off, but a God who is near and present, a God who does precisely
what He says and promises, then, now, and always. This Advent we watch and wait
in expectant hope for Christ’s coming on the Last Day even as we remember that
He has come in the flesh as our brother the Son of Mary by the power of the
Holy Spirit. And, we are just as hopeful, certain, confident that the Lord
Jesus comes amongst us now in His Word and Blessed Sacraments to forgive our
sins anew, to strengthen our weak and struggling faith, to nourish and sustain
us that we may persevere and endure as we wait and watch, and to equip and send
us full of the oil of faith to shine brightly with His Light in this world of
darkness that others may see and know that He is the Lord.
Do you see
how even our hope, the hope of Christ’s Church, is out of step with our world
and culture? However, that is precisely the way it is supposed to be. The
temptation Christ’s Church faces, the temptation that each of you members of
Christ’s body face every day of your lives, is to accommodate and to acquiesce
to this world and culture. That is why Advent is a penitential season, as is
Lent. Advent is a penitential season, a time to reflect upon your sin and to
repent, albeit in hopeful expectation and in certain, confident faith and trust
that Christ has come, that Christ comes even now, and that Christ is coming
again soon. It is the humble and the broken, the poor in spirit and those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness that are able to have this hope and receive
their Lord in all the ways He comes to them. It is those who confess their sins
that are able to receive absolution and live. It is those who bring nothing to
the Lord except themselves who receive Him as their King and all His kingdom
along with Him. It is you, who believe and trust and hope in Him, who are
Christ’s children, the true children of Israel and of Abraham his father,
children of God.
And so, St.
Paul’s exhortation is as true, valid, and relevant today as it was in the first
century: “The hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer
to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at
hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of
light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness,
not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But
put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify
its desires.” You “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” precisely by doing what you
are doing right now – hearing His Word, receiving His gifts, dying to your flesh
and its desires, and walking in the Light of Christ. All of these things enable
and equip you to live freely, even now, in faith and hope and in love. As St.
Paul famously wrote to the Corinthians, “so faith, hope, and love abide, these
three, but the greatest of these is love.” “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of
the Law.” Our hope is in God’s gift of love, Christ Jesus. Come now and receive
your King who comes to you, humble and hidden within bread and wine, which is
His absolving, sustaining, and life-giving body and blood. He who is the love
of God incarnate will fill you with His love that you may love others without
fear, that you may be His gift of hope and love to the world.
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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