A Sermon to Start the New Year

Advent 1 – Matthew 21:1-9 – November 27th, 2011

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +
This is the way we start the Church year, the way we begin this season of Advent – with the story of Palm Sunday. It’s a familiar story, a popular story, a happy one. Who among us doesn’t like the waving of palm branches, the joyous excitement and expectation of joy to come that is part and parcel of the day? And we start the Church year with this reading because this is what Advent is all about – that joyous expectation, that excitement that Christmas is almost here. Advent is the season where we get to look forward – we take our place with those of the Old Testament looking forward to the first coming of the Christ Jesus, which we will celebrate come Christmas Eve. However, this text is not simply here to set the mood, to set the ambiance of our Christmas Shopping Season, it’s not merely meant to whet our appetites for the holidays. Rather, this text teaches us who Christ Jesus is, who this Child whose birth we celebrate on Christmas is, who it is that does all these miracles, who it is that goes to the Cross. This text doesn’t just set us up for Advent, but it sets us up for the entirety of the Church Year, it sets us up for every reading we will hear, every sermon that will be preached, every service in this place. Why do I say this? Because everything in the Church can be summed up in the words of prophet Zechariah, “Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”

So, let us ponder this for a bit. The very first thing we have to get down pat is that Christ Jesus is our King. Well, duh, Pastor, we know that! Yes, we know that, we all say it, we pray “Thy Kingdom Come” – but I wonder if we, especially we as Americans, really get what the fact that Jesus is our King… means. For the last how many months have we been in the middle of a Presidential election cycle? You’ve got all the Republican candidates fighting tooth and nail to get a nomination, and then we’ve got almost a full year of campaigning to go. And what’s going to go on in all this? Massive criticism. We will hear for the next year every thing President Obama has done wrong, and every idea of any Republican who might get elected picked apart and torn to shreds. And then, at the end of it all, we will walk up to the polling booth next November and say, “I choose this one.” That’s not how it works with a King. We don’t choose or elect Christ – rather, He is the King, and He has said, “I am Your King, and you will be My people.” We aren’t the ones in charge – He is. And more to the point, while we might have every right as Americans and in fact a civic duty to think critically about our leaders and evaluate them… that’s not our relationship with Jesus. Christ Jesus isn’t going to check the polls to see if we like what He does. He is the King, and what He says goes.

And as sinful human beings, according to our sinful flesh, we hate the fact that Jesus is King. That’s what sin is – sin is nothing other than rebelling against Christ Jesus and trying to make ourselves king in His place. Our King says, “Don’t eat of this tree” – the serpent says, “Eat of this tree, then you’ll get to be like God, you’ll get to be the King!” And thus sin and our rebellion begins. And every sin, every temptation to sin is nothing more than us telling Jesus, “No, we don’t want you to be our King.” But here is the wonder of the ages – even though by our sin we reject, we turn our backs upon Christ Jesus, He does not abandon us. He could have simply washed His hands of us – said, “You don’t want to be in My Kingdom of life and joy – fine – forget you. Enjoy your wretchedness.” But He doesn’t. Instead, He tells His servants to say, “Say to the daughter of Zion- Behold, your King is coming to you.” Christ Jesus is not content to let you remain in sin, remain in rebellion, and so He is determined to come to you. If you now dwell in a fallen sinful world, He will come into that sinful fallen world, be born of a Virgin, to rescue you. If you now dwell in Satan’s clutches, He will come, be tempted and hounded by Satan, all to restore you and make you once again part of His own kingdom. If you are hounded by death, Christ Jesus will even be scourged and crucified, all to give you life that does not end or fade. Your King is determined to be your King, and what we see here in His Church is nothing but His coming to you and for you.

“Behold, your King is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey.” Christ Jesus is King, and He will do things His way, for indeed, His is wise and gracious, and He knows what is best. And He comes humbly. In our text we see Him entering Jerusalem upon a donkey. And that is a humble thing – even with the crowds lauding Him – it’s humble. A conquering king, one would think, should enter a city on a mighty steed, with vast armies behind him. In fact, that’s sort of what the crowd there was hoping for – a mighty warrior king who would thrust down the Romans and kick the gentiles out. That was what they were expecting – but that is not what Christ comes to do. No, His enemies are much bigger than the small fish of Roman rule – no, His targets are Satan and Sin and Death – and so He comes humbly. It is in His humility and gentleness that He defeats our foes – Christ Jesus doesn’t wrap His hands around Satan, but rather defeats Satan by being handed over to death. His humility is what brings Him victory. But the crowd did not want a humble king. They wanted one who was brash and bold and would drop down the smite on the Romans… and so Christ Jesus is rejected.

We today need remember that Christ Jesus, our King, is humble. Granted, as He is risen, He is exulted, and every knee shall bow at His name, but He is still humble, and He still teaches us to be humble. In every teaching of Christ, you will see this Humility come forth. Let’s think of some examples – turn the other cheek. What is that but humility – what is that but being determined to still love and care for your neighbor regardless of what he or she does to you? That’s humility. Or the one I referenced last week – let your light shine before men that they might see your good works and glorify… not you, but glorify your Father in heaven. Again – humility, learning to shape our lives so that others are shown God, so that others are pointed to Christ Jesus who is their king as well. That’s humility. One could very easily say that the Christian life, that growing as a Christian is nothing but learning more and more humility. It is nothing but learning to beat down those sinful, egotistical desires, and rather being a humble servant, content to show love to the neighbor no matter what the cost – even as Christ Jesus our King is humble and is content to show us love, no matter what the cost.

And again, we can rebel against this so. I know people who will say, “I just don’t see how those crowds on Palm Sunday could be the same ones shouting out for Jesus to be Crucified on Good Friday.” I know how – my own flesh cries out against Christ when I am called on to be humble. If someone annoys me, my sinful flesh doesn’t want to be humble, it wants to strike out and lash out, and at that time it too would have yelled, “Crucify Him, away with this humility, I want nothing of it!” But Christ Jesus knows this struggle that I face, that you face – and thus He continues to come to us, He comes to us humbly. He comes with mercy and compassion and forgiveness that breaks down and destroys our pride, our arrogance our sinfulness that upon reflection brings nothing but shame. Christ does not spurn you in your sin, but instead He deigns to come once again to you to forgive and renew you.

And how does Christ Jesus come to you? “Behold, your King is coming to you, Humble.” Christ Jesus comes to you this day to forgive you your sin, to give you His own humble strength, and how? In very simple, humble means. There are no flashes of lighting or peals of thunders – that will wait for the last day. There are no brash demonstrations of power and might. No. He comes to you humbly. He knows that you struggle against sin, and so He comes to you humbly through His Word of forgiveness and life spoken to you. And even that spoken Word of forgiveness is given humbly – He doesn’t send James Earl Jones or George Clooney or some other such famous person – no, He sends a short, overweight guy with a lisp. Eh, so be it – you are forgiven on account of Christ Jesus, your Humble King. Your Humble King comes to you via holy baptism, which again, is really a humble thing. A bit of water combined with the Word of God – not much to see, in fact, much of the world disdains baptism, thinks the best it might be a symbol, a quaint ceremony. No – it is your King coming to you, it is your King declaring that you are now His royal co-heir of the new heavens and the new earth, that life everlasting is yours. Your Humble King comes to you in His Holy Supper – and again, that is Humble. To have His most holy meal, nothing complicated or grandiose is needed – He takes bread and He takes wine and by the power of His Word He Himself comes to us, restores us, renews us. And all of this, all of it for our own good. Even before we would think to seek Him out, He has called us into His kingdom and promised to be with us – because He is our Holy and Righteous and Good King, who in His humble love for us brings us salvation.

This is what we will spend the season of Advent looking forward to with expectant hearts – to see the mystery of His holy and humble nativity. This is what we will see the rest of this Church year, indeed, every time we are gathered together in worship – we see our humble King coming to us for our own good. Behold, Oh daughter of Zion, your King is coming to you, and He will come to you humbly in this place, in His worship even until the day when He comes again and takes you to share in His eternal reign world with out end. Come quickly Lord Jesus – In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +