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+ + + In Nomine Jesu + + +
Please join me in prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. (Amen.)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Amen.)
Blessed new Church Year! Today is the First Sunday in Advent and so the First Sunday in the new Church Year. This Church Year our Gospel Readings are primarily from St. Matthew’s Divinely‑inspired Gospel account, and so today we hear St. Matthew’s account of, as odd as it might seem, Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem days before He suffered and died for the sins of the world, including your sins and my sins. That past singular coming to die for us is at the center of both the season of Advent and the whole Church Year, and that past singular coming assures us of both Jesus’s present repeated comings and His future final coming. Despite Jesus’s claiming to be the Messiah and His seemingly being recognized as the Messiah, St. Matthew’s account of Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem uniquely essentially-describes Jesus as “humble”, using an adjective that emphasizes His mild disposition, gentleness of spirit, or meekness. Jesus came as a God-given “non‑violent, non‑warlike king of salvation and peace” (F.Hauck/S.Schulz, TDNT 6:649), peace not only for Israel but for all nations (Roehrs‑Franzmann, ad loc Matthew 21:5, p.34, with reference to Zechariah 9:10). Thinking about “humble” as “lowly” and in some sense “hidden”, we might say that Jesus’s past coming was humble, that His present comings are humble, but that His future final coming is with glory. So, considering primarily today’s Gospel Reading, this morning, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we direct our thoughts to the theme “Coming humbly and with glory”.
To be sure, too often we might want glory now. Thanksgiving Day my sister, brother‑in‑law, and I walked around the property of a rather large Presbyterian church near their home in Austin, looking particularly at a new sanctuary that is being constructed in the middle of some nice existing buildings. Connected to a smaller congregation, we can for the wrong reasons desire the number of people and the kind of facilities that churches like that one has in Austin, though one does not have to go to Austin in order to find churches to envy sinfully. In today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus had crowds in front of Him and behind Him (confer John 12:12, 17)! We can wrongly expect the same. In the Church, we can look past the humble truth of the Gospel and the purity of the Sacraments and for the wrong reasons want what we might think of as the glory of not only better crowds and better buildings, maybe with stained-glass windows, but also a better teacher and preacher, better music, and even bigger or better communion bread. In society, we might fail to appreciate the leaders that we have and wrongly want what we might think of as better leaders. In our jobs, we might fail to appreciate the position and income that we have and wrongly want what we might think of as a better position and more income. In our families, we might fail to appreciate the people whom God has placed around us and wrongly want what we might think of as a better family. In our personal lives, we might fail to appreciate the health that God has given us and wrongly want what we might think of as better health. For these and countless other actual sins that come from our sinful nature, we deserve temporal and eternal punishment.
From all our actual sins and our sinful natures, the Son of God came to save us. On our own, we are unable to come to Him. Our fallen reason does not understand the humble King! But, out of God the Father’s great love, Jesus came to die for our sins, and the Holy Spirit, working through the pastors whom He sends’ using the Word and Sacraments that He has given, enables us to call out using the words of Holy Scripture itself, “Hosanna”, essentially, “Save us” (Psalm 118:25). And, when we turn in sorrow from our sin and trust God to forgive our sin, then “Save us” is exactly what God does, for Jesus’s sake.
Jesus our King came righteous and having salvation (Zechariah 9:9), and He describes Himself as “gentle”, or “humble”, and He promises to give us rest for our souls (Matthew 11:29‑30). Our consciences need not be terrified but instead are comforted. Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem on a colt was not the only humble thing about the Son of God’s singular past coming in order to save us. For us and for our salvation, the Son of God humbly was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man. And, also for us, the Son of God humbly was crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffered, and was buried. In writing to the Philippians and to us, St. Paul rightly contrasts Jesus’s humbling Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, with God the Father’s exalting Jesus (Philippians 2:1-11), such as in Jesus’s descending into hell, rising from the dead, and sitting at the Father’s right hand. Enabled by God, some then saw—and some now see—Jesus for Who He is as the Prophet promised by God (confer Deuteronomy 18:15-22), the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God in human flesh, Who has done all that needs to be done for our salvation, Who can be and is present in His Means of Grace, and Who works through such Means of Grace in order to save us from our sins.
I mentioned earlier that Jesus’s present comings also are humble. As the world judges things, what could be more humble than God’s Word combined with water in Holy Baptism, with a pastor’s touch in Holy Absolution, and with bread and wine in the Holy Supper? Yet, the eyes of faith see so much more: entrance into the Kingdom of God, forgiveness of sins from the pastor as from God Himself, and the Body of Christ given for us and the Blood of Christ shed for us that therefore also forgive us and so also give us life and salvation. In today’s Gospel Reading, the crowds “blessed” or “praised” Jesus, Who came in the Name of the Lord. In that same Name, under that same authority, those whom God sends forgive our sins in all of these ways, and we respond with “blessings” or “praise” of Him.
“Most of the crowd”, today’s Gospel Reading tells us, spread their cloaks on the road, following in some sense a precedent set when Jehu was anointed King over Israel centuries before (2 Kings 9:13). Such action is often understood as expressing submission to the King. Even if we do not literally spread our cloaks on the road before Him, we also submit to Jesus, our King. We confess both our sins and our faith in His forgiveness of sins, and we receive that forgiveness of sins through His Means of Grace. We are content with His present blessings and what He permits in our society—in both government and work—in our church, in our families, and in our own personal lives. And we praise Him for those blessings! As we heard in today’s Epistle Reading (Romans 13:11-14), we know that our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed, and, though we have peace and joy already now, we look forward to the peace of the eternal Last Day described in today’s Old Testament Reading (Isaiah 2:1-5).
This morning we have considered “Coming humbly and with glory”. Jesus’s singular past coming humbly assures us of both Jesus’s repeated present comings humbly and His final future coming with glory—as the glorious Son of Man, with the clouds of heaven (Daniel 7:13; confer Acts 1:9‑11). By God’s grace for Jesus’s sake, we, with daily sorrow over our sin and trust in God’s forgiveness, are prepared for our own deaths or for that final future coming with glory, whichever comes first. For Jesus, humility through suffering led to glory, and so also for us: humility through suffering leads to glory. And, as St. Paul wrote to the Romans and to us, the sufferings of this present time are not even worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). So we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20; confer 22:7)!
Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Amen.)
+ + + Soli Deo Gloria + + +