Sermon for Advent 1: "Backwards and Forwards"

 + 1^st Sunday of Advent – November 27^th, 2022 +

Series A: Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 21:1-11

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

There’s a phrase that’s common in hockey; players are told to keep their head on a swivel while on the ice. Players must be on the lookout for hits and checks, constantly looking both backward and forward.

 

We do the same thing while we’re driving. Eyes fixed on the road ahead. Eyes checking the rearview mirror. Backwards and forwards.

 

As this season of Advent begins, God’s Word reminds us to keep our heads and ears on a swivel. As we remember and celebrate Christ’s birth in the past, we keep our eyes fixed on the horizon for Christ’s return. 

 

The season of Advent calls us to look backward and forward. Backward to Jesus’ first coming in humility – a Virgin mother, a manger crib, a home in Nazareth, no place to lay His head, the suffering Servant, a 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. Today we do a bit of both, a kind of “back to the future” look at Jesus’ appearing as our King in His kingdom.

 

Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. Zechariah 9:9

 

When YHWH called Zechariah to declare these words God’s people were returning from exile in Babylon. Imagine returning to your home after it had been engulfed in flames or demolished in a windstorm: will it ever be the same? Where do we even start? That was the Jerusalem that Israel returned to. The walls had been breached. The temple had been destroyed. Sure we can rebuild, but will it ever be the same? Where is the rescue God promised? How many times have we faced similar doubts, fears, and uncertainties

 

In the midst of doubts and uncertainty and hopelessness, God sends his prophet Zechariah. The prophet whose name means “YHWH remembered” delivers a promise that is unforgettable; a declaration from YHWH himself that he remembers his covenant and promise and will deliver. 

 

Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.

 

And as we look backwards to YHWH’s word through Zechariah, Zechariah points us forward to the day his words are fulfilled. Jesus approaches Jerusalem with his disciples. The royal escort is prepared. The long-expected King is coming at last. Riding on a donkey just as Zechariah said he would. 

 

Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”

It’s a beautiful scene. The creature carries her creator. The Son of David and Son of God rides in royal procession into Jerusalem. The sacrifice approaches the temple. And the crowds spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

 

This too is part of the Advent season that is now upon us. Preparation. And not only preparation to celebrate the birth of the King who came and was born to save us. But preparation for the coming of the King who will come again in glory to deliver us once again. This is what we prayed earlier… 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.

 

Let’s be honest, this is a far different message than what we hear in the world around us this time of the year. Don’t wait, we hear. Act now. Buy now. Live for now. We live in a day and age where our eyes, ears, hearts and minds are constantly tempted to forget the past, ignore the future, and bend your gaze inward. Look after yourself. Be yourself. Live your truth. And on and on it goes, a selfish spiral swirling down the toilet drain. 

 

Advent calls us to do just the opposite. Lift up your heads. Stop your navel-gazing. Look backwards to Jesus the King who rode into Jerusalem to die for you. Look forward to the day when Jesus the King will return in glory to raise you from the dead. Behold, your King is coming to you.

 

And the crowds that went before Jesus and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

 

Hosanna is our Advent prayer as well. Hosanna means “Lord, save us.” Lord save us from the darkness of this fallen world. Lord, save us from our doubts, despair, worries, fears, and uncertainty. Lord, save us from our selfish, self-centered, self-absorbed sinful ways. Lord, save us. Today we join the Palm Sunday crowds. We look backward to God’s deliverance and promises in the past. And we look forward to the where the Son of David is coming.  Jesus came to die. Jesus came to lay down His life. Jesus is the King who dies for His subjects, who rescues them, who comes to them. You don’t come to this King, you don’t seek Him out. He seeks you out and comes to you. 

 

Behold your King has come. Behold your King will come again in glory. This advent, keep your head on a swivel. Look back to his cross and resurrection. Look forward to his coming again in glory. Your King Jesus is coming. 

 

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.

Come, Lord Jesus!

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.