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+ + + In Nomine Jesu + + +
Pastor Galler is on vacation, but, for our reflection this morning on the Third Reading for the First Sunday in Advent, Pastor Galler edited a sermon written by The Rev. Timothy J. Scharr, president of the LCMS’s Southern Illinois District. Rev. Scharr’s sermon was published in the 20-17 volume of Concordia Pulpit Resources (28:1, pp.12-14), to which publication Pilgrim subscribes primarily in order to supply sermons on occasions such as this, when our pastor is away and the congregation has not otherwise supplied the pulpit. The edited sermon reads as follows:
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
The imminent arrival of a president, governor, monarch or other notable leader sets off a burst of activity. Preparations are made so that everything will be ready when the leader comes. In today’s Third Reading, Jesus prepares to and then enters Jerusalem and is adored by a throng of people. Jesus, too, is a great and mighty monarch; His realm spans time and eternity. Yet, in coming to Jerusalem for what might be considered His “enthronement”, Jesus comes in a pretty unusual manner. Considering the Third Reading for the First Sunday in Advent, we ask the question, “The King Comes . . . How?”
First, Jesus sends two of his disciples ahead as an advance-preparation team of a sort. More than half of the Third Reading explains how Jesus came to ride upon a colt into Jerusalem. The two disciples are to go into the village ahead. There the disciples will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. The disciples are to untie the colt and bring it back with them. If anyone asks them why they are doing this, they are to respond, “The Lord has need of it”. Everything happened just as Jesus said it would. The disciples made ready the colt for Jesus to ride by placing their cloaks upon it.
What a contrast to the inauguration of a president that we might see in January or to the enthronement of a monarch in our time! Take the United Kingdom, for example. Few of us have ever witnessed a coronation there, since Queen Elizabeth the Second has been on the throne since 19-52, making her the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Upon her death, presumably a new king will be crowned. His coronation would be an event unlike any other in this century to date. The event would be filled with as much pomp and pageantry as possible. Dignitaries from many nations would attend the event in person, and billions from around the globe would witness the event by electronic media.
Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem was more of a local news story. And, humanly-speaking, we might say that His handlers could have done a much more impressive job of staging the event. Yes, the colt takes Jesus along the road at a casual pace. Yes, people have gathered along the way and are excited to see Jesus, but these are not celebrities in the audience, mostly just plain folks. Many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy palm branches that they had cut from the fields. They were gestures of submission and worship that even the poorest could extend. Jesus is astride no warhorse or chariot but enters Jerusalem with simple, sublime dignity. Still, the crowds saw in Jesus their hope for salvation and deliverance. They shout “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” “Hosanna” is a beautiful word; it can be translated as “Save now!” Those so crying out saw in Jesus, their future. Some in likely expected Jesus to be enthroned, overthrow the despised Romans, and finally restore the kingdom as it was in the days of David.
What would we like to see Jesus restore for our futures? America as we think we remember it? America that we imagine was once greater than it is now? What we might regard as “the good old days” for our church or family? Would we like Jesus to restore the dreams we once had of a corner office, an impressive title behind our names, a cushy retirement? The better health or greater physical condition our loved ones or we ourselves once might have had? Ah, but what do we need Jesus to restore to us? Humankind’s created nature that was very good before it was corrupted by sin? Yes, and the right relationship and all else that goes along with that “very good” nature before we by our sin earned ourselves temporal and eternal death.
The Lord Jesus is a great King Who brings the coming kingdom of David with Him. What the crowd didn’t understand was that our Lord’s kingdom was not an earthly physical reign from Jerusalem. Jesus was not overthrowing the Romans and other rulers with conventional forces. When Pontius Pilate questioned Jesus about his kingdom, Jesus acknowledged that indeed He was a king but also that His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). Jesus is unlike any other earthly ruler. He is God in human flesh. As the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, the Lord understands this world and humanity better than any mortal. He was made like us in every way, except without sinning (Hebrews 4:15).
For the arrival of a twenty-first-century dignitary, we would expect a large police escort, many support vehicles, and at least two limousines designed to confuse a would-be attacker as to which one was carrying the leader. Modern crowds stand behind barriers to prevent their coming too close. Body guards surround the dignitary, ready to risk their lives for the safety of the honoree. Everything is orchestrated to bring the leader quickly and without incident to his or her destination. Not so for King Jesus, Who comes in a pretty unusual manner.
There were no body guards for Jesus, no one willing to give up his life for Him No soldiers, no security detail, just Jesus’s disciples on the road with him. No attempt to quiet the crowd or to keep them away. There were no protections for King Jesus at his enthronement. No, He finally permitted the world to have its way with Him. He was betrayed by a friend under the cover of darkness, and His disciples fled, while the crowds who welcomed Jesus on Sunday slept. In a hurried manner, Jesus was convicted and sentenced. Pilate knew Jesus was not guilty of a capital offense, but to please the crowd he gave Jesus over to death. Stripped, whipped, and adorned with a crown of thorns, Jesus ultimately is brought to the place called Golgotha, the place of a skull. The Divinely-inspired St. Mark records that among the women looking on were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Salome (Mark 15:40). And there in the unnatural darkness of midday that Jesus was enthroned on the tree of a cross as King forever, for you and for me.
Satan and his minions thought that they had won a great victory. The enemies of Jesus rejoiced; but short was their triumph, for Jesus the Savior arose on the third day, and death, hell, and Satan He vanquished, His foes (Lutheran Service Book, 480:2-3). On the cross, Jesus defeated sin, death, and the power of the devil for us, and Jesus’s resurrection shows that the Father accepted His sacrifice on our behalf. We can call out to Him, “Hosanna!”, as we did in today’s Psalm (Psalm 80:1-7; antiphon: v.7), “Come to save us!” And, when we turn in sorrow from our sin and trust God to forgive our sin for Jesus’s sake, then God forgives us. God forgives our sinful desires for Him to restore “earthly kingdoms” and whatever else our sin might be. God forgives all our sin, by grace through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. God forgives our sin through His Word preached and read to groups like this and applied to individuals with water in Holy Baptism, with a pastor’s touch in Holy Absolution, and with bread and wine that are Christ’s Body and Blood in the Sacrament of the Altar.
Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He continues to rule all things on behalf of His Church, which we do well to remember. We also do well to remember that King Jesus is coming back. Like the Divinely‑inspired Isaiah in today’s First Reading (Isaiah 64:1-9), we pray for Him to rend the heavens and come down. There will be no mistaking His identity the final-time around. The trumpet will sound, the voice of the archangel will be heard. Graves will open, and the dead will rise. King Jesus is returning (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Every eye will see him, even those who persecuted Him, and all unbelievers will weep on account of him (Revelation 1:7). At His name, “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). Jesus, Who holds the keys of death and of Hades in His hands (Revelation 1:18), will welcome home His saints, those who were faithful to the point of death. As we heard last week, Jesus will say to His sheep on his right right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). The Kingdom we have always really needed Jesus to restore. The Kingdom that comes with forgiveness of our sins, including the sins of wishing for a kingdom of our own.
Meanwhile we wait. We wait for the vote of the Electoral College and the inauguration of a president, if not also a new British monarch, but more importantly we wait for King Jesus to come a final time. As we begin a new Church Year today and observing another season of Advent, we look back at Jesus’s first coming in Bethlehem and give thanks. We see the climax of that first coming with his enthronement on the cross. We celebrate and yet ponder that awe-filled mystery. Jesus came to die. He came to give His life as a ransom for all (Matthew 20:28). Gentleness, humility, and meekness marked His first coming, even as he journeyed to Jerusalem and to the cross. A crucifixion is the last place one would look for an enthronement, but here is Jesus, crucified for you. All your sins were laid upon him. By his wounds, you are healed (Isaiah 53:5). He fulfilled God’s law completely. His death and resurrection ushered in His coming Kingdom. Now we walk by faith in the Son of God, Who loves us and gave himself for us. He remains with us, our Immanuel (Matthew 1:23; 18:20; 28:20). Now His coming and presence are hidden in Word, water, touch, and bread and wine. He takes these ordinary elements and uses them literally to join Himself to us. As we heard in today’s Second Reading (1 Corinthians 1:3‑9), we are not lacking in any gift, as we wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain us to the end, guiltless in His day. His past and present comings are guarantees of His final coming. Soon we will see Jesus as He really is. What was hidden will be seen by everyone. His kingdom of glory will surpass every expectation in its power, splendor, and majesty. King Jesus is coming for you. He comes to take you to be where He is, that you may dwell in the house of the Lord, before his eternal throne, forever. Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly (confer Psalm 22:19).
Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
+ + + Soli Deo Gloria + + +