Shepherd of the Springs
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

From the Old Testament of the Day: "Therefore, behold the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where He had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.". [Jer. 23.7-8]

From the Epistle of the Day: "Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed." [Rom. 13.11b]

From the Holy Gospel: "Behold, your king is coming to you, unmble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden." [Matthew 21.5b]

Once again, God has brought you into another year of grace, mercy, peace, and protection. And once again, you hear the prophetic reminder from God’s Word, "Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed!"

On this first Sunday of a new historic Church Year, you hear again the out-of-place Holy Gospel – or so it would seem. The narrative of your Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem, on what we have come to call "Palm Sunday," seems more appropriate for the Sunday that begins Holy Week. And that would be the case, if – IF – the Gospels were primarily story books about the life of Jesus. But, they are not! The Gospels are primarily records of God’s revelation of Himself and of His works in the person of the man, Christ Jesus, who is at the same time God in human flesh.

Understood in their proper way, the four Gospel accounts tell real events and real truth about the most important world events since the Fall of mankind, events that have their fulfillment in real events yet to come. Thus, what you read about Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John teach you to think differently about the events of human history that they record. Their importance for you, for your daily life, for your eternal future, is not as story-books. Their importance is to claim you by Christ, to build you up in Christ, to keep you with Christ, and to bring you to wait for Christ as the final chapter in your life.

The entire Church Year construction that has come to you is a gift that carries you along this path, by, in, with, and for Christ and for your eternal salvation. Thus, today, you attention is invited to "How the Church Year Serves Your Faith."

I.

The Old Testament for this 1^st Sunday of Advent and of the new Church Year, as already read to you, is taken from the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah lives and serves God’s people by his proclamations at the time of the Fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the holy temple. Most of the other prophets of God whose words are recorded in the Old Testament lived prior to this terrible time in human history, and especially to this terrible judgment of God upon his rebellious people.

Jeremiah’s earlier colleagues warned of day of judgment on God’s people, by God’s agents, but the people because calloused and resentful of such a message, because, after all, year followed year and prophet followed prophet, and nothing changed.

But now comes Jeremiah, and what he prophecies does come to pass in his lifetime.

Jeremiah’s message is "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as King and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land." Now, as you put yourself in that time and place when those words are spoken, you also hear something else, besides the prophet. You hear the yawns of people! "Not again! Why doesn’t he give us something new, something motivating, something to help in the here-and-now?"

But Jeremiah continues with his God-appointed task and his God-appointed message. "In His days, Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely … The days are coming, declares the Lord." Now, the whispers and the grousing around you rise again: "Judah is saved already! Things are fine here in Jerusalem! And as for Israel, those brethren-turned-traitors, why, the Assyrians gave them their just consequences over a century ago."

But Jeremiah just carries on, as usual, as is his charge from God, "Behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where He had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land" – then, they will have eternal peace!

II.

That is God’s prophetic promise, and it hadn’t happened yet. Even after the Fall, the rescue of God’s description hadn’t happened yet.

You see, ever since God’s Old Testament people where delivered by Him from Egyptian slavery to a land of their own, that event became the constant focus for understanding all of God’s dealing with them. But now, Jeremiah is declaring this new, even more important act of God, delivering from an even more pervasive slavery. Dead nations, like the 10 tribes of Israel that broke away from Judah and the temple after King Solomon’s death, will be brought to life, and God’s own among them will be led by Him to eternal peace and purpose.

It begins with the coming of Christ. More importantly, it begins with the saving work of Christ, culminated on the holy cross. But the fullness of redemption still awaits His coming again. And so, St. Paul urges you, in the Epistle of the Day, "Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed." The fullness of your redemption, life, and relationship with God is on its way, but not yet here!

But, the kingdom is established already! It is established, as the prophet Zechariah declares and St. Matthew repeats in today’s Holy Gospel, when "Behold, you king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden." The crowds that went before and followed Jesus from Jericho to Jerusalem – Galileans and other pilgrims heading to the holy city for the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread – they got it! They believed! And so they sang, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" They believed, and so they announced to unbelieving Jerusalem that the King, the true and final King, is now coming into the city of God.

III.

This is why the Church has found it important to begin each new Church Year with this same song of faith: "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" For you, today, the Atonement by which you are forgiven, is now complete. It is a done deal. But the "fullness of redemption," as St. Paul calls it, is NOT done, not yet! It is coming, just as certainly as the Fall of Jerusalem was coming as three hundred years of prophets of the Lord had declared.

And you will know when this fullness of redemptions occurs! You won’t miss it! You may well be dead, but you’ll be alive again for this one – this fullness of your redemption. It will arrive when the King returns, the same King who entered Jerusalem to work your Atonement from the holy cross. When He comes again, the 2^nd time, it won’t be on a donkey. We’ll hear more about His arrival next week.

But you see now, why it is important to start each new Church Year with the declaration of the King’s arrival according to prophesy! It focuses your life in Jesus on His work, on His cross, on His gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation, in this new year. So, you see how the Church Year serves your faith!