+ 1st Sunday in Advent, December 1st,
2013 +
Redeemer
Lutheran, HB
Series A: Isaiah
2:1-5; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 24:36-44
In the
Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Stir up
Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from
the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance.
Come. That’s the word of the day. The word of Advent.
The word of our Christian life. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Jesus came in the
flesh. Jesus will come in glory. Jesus comes in His body and blood.
Today the church year begins. Advent begins, a
season of arrivals and preparation. A season of waiting and expectation.
The world says: “Hurry up! Buy
more. Buy now. Why wait? Only 24 days until Christmas.” And yet our Lord cries
out to His Church: “Concerning that day
or hour no one knows. Therefore, stay awake for you do not know the day of your
Lord’s coming. Be ready, prepared.”
Advent is so much more than
pre-Christmas. Advent is an oasis of patience and humility in a desert of
consumption and self-indulgence. Advent is a season of hope and joyful anticipation
in a world that celebrates and idolizes instant gratification.
In Advent we look forward and backward. Backward to Jesus’ first coming in
humility – a Virgin mother, a manger, a home in Nazareth, no place to lay His
head, the suffering Servant, the cross. And forward to Jesus’ second coming in
glory – the shout from heaven, the archangel’s trumpet, the clouds, the
judgment, the resurrection, the power, and the glory.
The
first Sunday in Advent is a kind of “back to the future” day. We look backwards
to Jesus’ teaching about the future. “For,”
as St. Paul writes, “salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
The night is far gone; the Day is at hand.”
Stir up
Your power, O Lord, and come.
But how exactly does the Lord’s power come? What
are we praying for? The Lord’s power isn’t exactly safe. It’s like electricity.
It can only be used with the proper means to handle it: cables, wires, plugs,
outlets – you get the point. So too with the Lord’s power. It’s not safe to
handle without the proper means, without a mediator. So, God hides his glory
and power in earthly means for your good. Like Moses on Mt. Sinai, hidden in
the rock from the glory of the Lord. Like the priests in the tabernacle as YHWH
hid himself in the smoke and fire. Like the angels in Isaiah 6, shielding their
eyes. Like the Israelites, who walked on dry land as the Lord’s power buried
Pharaoh’s army in a watery grave. Or like Noah, hidden in the ark while the
power of the Lord flooded the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.
Stir up
Your power, O Lord, and come.
To pray that prayer is to pray against
ourselves. It is to pray a death sentence on our sin. To pray for the drowning
of our quarrelsome, jealous, drunken, idolatrous Old Adam. To pray that all our
works of sin would be cast out. This is the power of God’s Law: it exposes our
sinful heart of darkness; it kills and destroys all that stands between us and
the Lord. And that is a good thing to pray for. Repentance is part of Advent. Keep
watch. Stay awake.
Like Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia, the Lord
is not a tame God. But he is good. For there is another power of the Lord.
Stir
up Your power, O Lord, and come. “The Gospel is the power of
salvation for all who believe.” And this is a power unlike any other. This
is not the Lord’s irresistible, raw power. But His power hidden, handled in the
proper means: water, word, bread, and wine. This is the way of the
manger and the crown of thorns and the cross. God’s power comes in weakness,
humility, suffering, and death.
So in our Advent lives we live like Elijah. For
the Lord was not in the mighty wind or the earthquake but in the hidden, quiet
voice of His Word. That Word who promises: “Behold, I am coming soon.” That
Word who calls us to pray: “Come, Lord Jesus.” “Stay awake, for you do not know
the day or the hour that your Lord is coming.”
To be sure, there is warning here. But there is
also great comfort. Jesus is coming soon. And these aren’t the words of some
crank on the street corner with a cardboard sign. These are the words of the
One who died and rose again; and the sign over his head reads: Jesus of
Nazareth, King of the Jews.
Like Moses, you are hidden in the pierced
wounds of Jesus. Jesus is your priest, robed in your humanity. Jesus is your
sacrifice. Though your sins were as scarlet you shall be white as snow. Though
you were a child of the darkness you’re a child of the Light of the world. Like
Isaiah, your iniquity has been taken away at the altar. Your lips have touched
the holy coals of Christ’s body and blood. Like Israel you are saved by the
power of the Lord as your enemies of sin, death, and the devil lay in the
watery abyss of the font. Like Noah you
are hidden in the holy ark of Christ’s church, kept safe from the raging flood.
Kept safe by wood and nails and water.
Want to know your future? Look back to the
cross. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, your sin.
And in looking
backwards, we look forwards. Looking back to when Christ came in humility we
look forward when he will come again in glory.
Advent
is a season of watching and waiting. Our Christian lives during Advent – as in
all seasons - are lived like those early mornings, just before the alarm goes
off. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. It’s still dark, but there the
dawn is piercing the horizon. You may feel like tossing the covers over your
head, rolling over, and go back to sleep, but it’s time to wake up. Get ready!
Your King is coming to you. Salvation is nearer now than when you first
believed.
After all,
what are you waiting for, darkness or light? Condemnation or salvation? You are
baptized. You are clothed with Christ. You are children of the uncreated light.
Children of an endless Day. Your sin has been put away in Christ’s cross,
buried forever in his tomb. Therefore live as a child of the light.
Rejoice
this Advent. Rejoice as we hear about our Lord’s coming in human flesh. His
coming in Jerusalem to save you. His coming in glory to resurrect you. But
rejoice that he comes even now. There’s a little bit of Advent in every Lord’s
Supper. Stir up your power, O Lord,
and come. And he does, hidden in bread and wine. His body is here for you,
powerful to save and nourish your sin-starved bodies. Take, eat. His blood is
poured out for you; it is His power of salvation to quench your sin-parched
lips. Take, drink. Our Lord comes for you.
There’s
no better way to celebrate Advent than to receive our Lord’s Holy Word and
Sacraments. There’s no better way to prepare, watch, and wait than this Divine
Service. No better way to await Jesus’ coming in glory than to be here, where
Jesus comes for you.
Once He came; soon He comes.
Once He came by way of a Virgin mother;
soon He comes with the angels.
Once He came by way of the crib and cross; soon He comes with the glory of heaven
Once He came riding atop a borrowed donkey; soon He comes with clouds descending
Once He came as a beggar King; soon He comes as the King of kings.
Once He came to die; soon He comes to raise the dead.
Once He came in weakness; soon He comes in power.
Once He came to be judged; soon He comes to judge.
Once He came to save us; soon He comes to give us salvation.
Once He came by way of the crib and cross; soon He comes with the glory of heaven
Once He came riding atop a borrowed donkey; soon He comes with clouds descending
Once He came as a beggar King; soon He comes as the King of kings.
Once He came to die; soon He comes to raise the dead.
Once He came in weakness; soon He comes in power.
Once He came to be judged; soon He comes to judge.
Once He came to save us; soon He comes to give us salvation.
Stir up
your power, O Lord, and come. Come quickly.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and
of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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