Jeremiah 23:5-8; Matthew 21
Raising Up a Righteous Branch
Advent 1 Ad Te Levavi
November 27, 2016
Zion Lutheran Church Nampa, ID
Here we are again. Another Sunday. Another Advent season. Another church year. And we greet Jesus who comes to us. During Advent, we look forward to looking back, and to the future when Christ comes again. With it comes all the excitement and anticipation of another upcoming Christmas. At first glance it seems a little strange at times that we would read the Palm Sunday story as we begin Advent and prepare for Christmas, yet the point is very striking. Our church year, while not always perfect, seeks to shape our lives, year to year, around the life and work of Christ. And so it begins with our Lord coming to His people and a renewed call for the world to receive Him in faith and rejoicing.
How does Jesus come? Humble, and mounted on a donkey. Not in glorious splendor, but in lowly pomp. The way He comes shows that He is not coming to frighten or force or oppress people, but to help them, to carry their burdens, and to take responsibility for them.
So it still is today. Christ our King comes among us, bringing the reign of God into our ordinary lives; not in dazzling spectacle but in the ordinary things He has commanded and in which He promised to be present to forgive, save, and give life: water, word, bread, and wine.
And we respond in the same way as the crowds in Jerusalem. Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. We sing this practically every time we have communion in the words of the Sanctus, for the Lord still comes to us today in the lowly forms of bread and wine as He delivers to us His very body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins. We are invited today as we start our new church year, as we get ready for Christmas, to see the coming Lord, to be awoken from sleep and unbelief that we might receive in faith Him who comes in name of the Lord.
What kind of kind do we really want? We live in a culture were the individual is king, we have the “right” to choose everything. We elect our leaders, we grab power for ourselves. Are we looking for a king who will just agree with whatever we think and feel? For one who will just make my life easier, or happier, or more successful? Or do we realize our deeper need-the need for righteousness and salvation?
That is what it means when Your king comes. You do not seek Him, He seeks you. You do not find Him, He finds you. The preachers come from Him, not from you. The preaching comes from Him, not from you. Your faith comes from Him, not from you. And everything that faith works in you comes from Him, not from you. Where He does not come, you remain outside. And where there is no Gospel, there is no God there, but only sin and damnation. No greater wrath of God exists than where He does not send the Gospel. There can be only sin, error, and darkness there no matter what they do. No greater grace than where He sends His Gospel, for there fruit and grace must follow together, even if not all, or very few, believe it.
This is part of what the prophet Jeremiah communicates to us in our Old Testament reading today. God denounced the kings and priests of Judah as “shepherds” who had scattered God’s sheep. But God also promised to “raise up for David a righteous Branch,” who “shall reign as king and deal wisely.” God will not let the wickedness of bad shepherds mess with His plan and purpose of gathering and saving a people for Himself. Just as in the days of the exile in Babylon, God will preserve a remnant, gathering them to Himself to be fruitful and multiply.
From the root of David, that is, a descendent of King David, who will reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. If there’s one thing we need in this world, this is it! We are surrounded by leaders and countries that reject Christ and His Word. We struggle living in our country where our Christian values and heritage and not accepted as they once were. And in the midst of a culture that tries to highjack Christmas and turn it into some winter festival, and flat out ignores Advent, we are reminded that “Christ alone is our righteousness, who is true God and man, because in Him the divine and human natures are personally united with each other” (FC Ep III 1). The subjects of the king will share in a unique benefit from His reign, claiming His merits before the throne of God, though they are unrighteous, they will be righteous in God’s sight.
This is why the world, including us, is in need of Advent. Not just Christmas, but Advent. It is to help build the excitement as our Savior comes to His people, in the past in the present and in the future. It is to prepare yourself as the Holy One of God, the King of Creation, the One who comes in the name of the Lord, graciously rides into your life. To hear again the reason why Jesus comes into the world, the extent of God’s love by sending His Son to enter into this sinful and fallen world, the reason why we celebrate Christmas, and to prepare. To prepare yourself for Jesus to come to you. To repent of your sinfulness. To repent of your lack of attention on Jesus in your life. To repent of getting carried away with the crowds of the world who shout for the blood of the Christ rather than for His salvation.
St. Paul reminds us today in Romans 13 that the hour of God’s salvation has come, that salvation is nearer to us now than we when first believed. We have a message to share to the world about the meaning of Advent and Christmas, not just historically, but the meaning right now – that our Lord still comes through His Word and Sacraments. That He still comes to save us. That He is our righteousness, who lives and reigns with Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, now and forever.