First Sunday of Advent (Ad Te Levavi)

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah. When he preached these words to the people of Israel, he spoke to those who had come from the tribes of Israel, but now they were scattered across the region because of their unfaithful kings. The people longed to be united and to be under the leadership of someone like David. They were tired of seeing one king fail after another, and scattered after being conquered by foreign armies, who worshiped carved idols and not the one true living God of Israel. 

“Behold, the days are coming,” are words of joyful expectation. That God will finally fulfill the words he has spoken that someone will once again sit on the throne of David. This king will not be a deceiver, bringing shame upon the name of the great king. But this one will be a true king from the line of David. The line of Kings that were killed off as an axe meets a trunk of a tree, only leaving a dead stump. Yet, where the world only sees death, a shoot will sprout forth, a shoot that will be a greater tree than the one before it. This heir of David is none other than Jesus Christ. For he is both God and man. He will succeed where his forefathers failed. Jesus will deliver all the remnant of the children of Israel out of the hand of the foreign ruler of this world, the devil himself. 

“Behold, the days are coming,” and they have come, when Christ Jesus, the Lord our righteousness, comes into the city of Jerusalem. He comes first into the city of his fathers, not appearing as notable on the outside. Yet, he comes riding the donkey and the colt of the donkey, as he first comes to this world as a meek and humble servant. The people around him cry out as if he were coming to establish his kingdom on earth before their very eyes. They cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” A word that means “save us now.” This is not only a cry out to an earthly king, but a prayer to the Son of God. 

The prayers of the people are indeed answered, yet not according to the desires of man. Instead, these prayers are answered, according to the will of God. The promise of the Lord that he will send his Messiah to rule in the new Jerusalem and his kingdom lasts forever, as he is a judge over all flesh, has not yet come. He must first come in this manner. For without Christ’s own sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, where he poured out his blood for our redemption, we could not stand righteous on the day of judgment. It is by the throne of his cross that we are made right to stand before the throne of God. And by his victorious resurrection, we are given the promise that he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and whose kingdom will have no end. 

“Behold, the days are coming,” and so let me ask you this: what will our Lord find in our hearts? Christ Jesus will either find garments and palm branches laid before him, or he will find discontentment and rejection in the hearts of each and every man at his reappearing. The hearts of the unbelieving are resistant to hear of the triumph of Christ over sin, death, and hell. And the second coming of our Lord is taken as a joke, for if it were no joke to them, it would mean they must repent. No longer working to gratify every desire. Because that means Christ could come at any time, possibly leaving the passions of the heart unfulfilled. And so they cannot believe in Christ since they must turn their eyes to God alone and not themselves. Meanwhile, they laugh at those who say there is something better yet to come.

“Behold, the days are coming,” and for you, dear Christian, know this, and you are not repulsed to hear of the Lord’s second coming. For by faith given to you by the Holy Spirit, you have been awakened from sleep, the sleep of the unprepared. You are not afraid of the things that will come in these latter days, for our salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. For the sake of his saving work on the cross, Christ has given all things needful to believe in him by the power of the Holy Spirit. He has given you faith in his word that God wills that you will come into his kingdom, bought by the blood of his only begotten Son. And that the Holy Spirit and word of God have washed you clean in the waters of holy baptism, that you no longer belong to the world, but to our Heavenly Father, who has given the promise that he will never leave you or forsake you. He gives you holy absolution, so that you may be forgiven and assured of Christ’s love for you. And finally, the Lord’s Supper, where he strengthens your faith and forgives all our sins once again. These are the ways that Christ prepares you for his coming again. So cling to Christ and his promises, and he will come to a heart that is humbled; he will find inside you garments and branches laid before him. He will hear praises from your lips, crying, “Hosanna in the highest.” Yet we do not prepare ourselves; it is the work of the Holy Spirit in us, in faith in Christ Jesus. 

“Behold, the days are coming,” therefore, let us conduct our lives as those who have been awakened from sleep. Not allowing provision for the desires of our sinful flesh. Instead, we live contrary to the world. For we await our great hope. By the grace of God, we live a life that bears witness to the second coming of Christ. When we are not quickly given over to quarreling and jealousy, nor to other shameful vices. Although these describe the old Adem in us, they do not describe us now, as we have been awakened by faith in Christ. And by his first coming into Jerusalem on the donkey, we are made ready for his coming again in glory as he brings his new Jerusalem to us. 

“Behold, the days are coming,” and our response to these words is “Amen, come, Lord Jesus.” Come quickly, Lord. Come and save us from our sins and sorrows. Come and destroy the world that is fading away and bring forth the new heavens and earth. Come and defeat satan and his demons who tried to assail us and rob us of your Grace. Come and deliver us from the scoffers and those who hate us. Come, Lord, with all your glory, might, and power, for we long to behold you. Amen.