St. Matthew 21:1-9
The Rev. BT Ball
They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him 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!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
All the racing and running and chasing has started. The things we have to get done are undone, but we are all working on it. Buying, wrapping, decorating. All of that. And it isn’t bad. We love our family and friends; we want to have joy and a Merry Christmas. We want to make things special, particularly for little ones, and even a bit for ourselves, because it is better to give than to receive.
But let us pause this morning and remember that it all has at its center - salvation in the Son of David. Because if you miss that, like so many do, you miss the whole thing. This is Advent – a season of anticipation, patience, listening, waiting, for the coming of the Son of David, he who comes in the Name of the Lord. And the first Sunday of Advent the Church wants to remind you that you are under the threatening peril of your sins and you need rescue from them. This usually isn’t the theme of Christmas parties and holiday get-togethers, but it certainly is the theme of Advent. And we have a king who deals with this, in the way that only He can.
The Gospel here on the First Sunday of Advent fast-forwards all the way to Holy Week. It is letting you know what the child whose birth we will celebrate in a few weeks has come to do. Palm Sunday is grounding you right now, reminding you of what this all is. Cloaks on the road, palm branches waving, and Jesus fulfilling which was spoken by the prophet, “ Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘ Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’” Your King has come, not in the glamour of what is known as holiday magic, but in the humility of riding a donkey, the holy day is in the one where he comes to the city that would reject him. He came to his own, but his own would not receive him.
And why does Jesus ride in? To deal with the threatening perils of your sins. The crowds hollered out, Hosanna, to the Son of David. Hosanna in the Highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! We’ll holler it out again in a few moments. The great question is if they knew what they were asking for on that day, crying out Hosanna – it means “save us”. What kind of saving were they looking for? Was it from the threatening perils of their sins? The best construction would say yes, but perhaps a bit more clear understanding would be they were looking for salvation from their overlord in Rome. Now, you will say it, Hosanna in the highest, and what kind of saving are you looking for, asking for? For your wife or mom to get off your back from trying to get you to church? Saving from your responsibilities to family? Responsibilities even to brothers and sisters in Christ? Saving from the hassle of life, of demands and deadlines, the next Christmas party and the next time you have to see that person you can’t stand at a family gathering? Well, Jesus hasn’t come to save you from any of that. He has come to save you from your sins, and the threatening peril you are in because of them. Satan and your sinful nature are conspiring together and their work is so hidden, so clever that you can’t even see it. Sin is knocking at the door and it seeks you, seeks you to kill you forever. And you need saving from that – death forever. And so Jesus comes to save.
And he does so in humility, riding a coal the foal of a donkey. Riding into the kingly city to reign not like the king of this world, but like the Son of David, which he is. To reign from the cross, that is his desire. His reign is one that saves you from sin and death, by dying himself. He comes not to save you from the things in this life, but to save you to life this life in great joy and freedom. You are saved in Christ, and he keeps on bringing salvation, even here. It is why we sing the Hosanna, blessed is He who cometh in the Name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest, because the salvation He won, and the life He gives is delivered in the humble way of eating His Body and drinking His blood, under bread and wine. Here is the reign of the King. There is no hassle here, no racing, no running around. Only things for Him to get done and He does them. He saves you, He forgives you. He gives you life, to have faith in him and to love those around you. There are things for you to get done, to be sure, and they are good things. But He must be at the center - This King, the Son of David, Jesus, saving you from the threatening perils of your sins by the mighty deliverance of His Cross. His Body. His Blood. Amen.
