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1^st Sunday in Advent (Ad Te Levavi) – December 1, 2024 Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas Rev. Joshua Woelmer Text: Matthew 21:1–9 “Waiting and Expectation” Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. My sermon last week was all about waiting for something. It was focused on the End Times. All of our waiting points forward to the fulfillment of what is behind all our hopes and dreams. The season of Advent has begun, and it too is a season of waiting. Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” Christ our Lord has come to the world in gentleness as a baby boy, as a king coming into his city on a donkey. Christ our Lord comes to us now in grace through Word and Sacrament. Christ our Lord will come again in glory on the Last Day. The focus of Advent shifts the sense of waiting to this question: what are you expecting? Expectation is tied up with waiting. As you wait for Christmas to arrive, you may have many expectations for what it will bring. Whether it is particular gifts that you have put on your list to Santa or the plans you are making to gather together with family, you have expectations. It is good when your expectations match reality. That is, if a little girl expects to receive a unicorn, she had better temper her expectations to a unicorn stuffed animal rather than the real thing. When I was growing up, my parents were very good at setting our expectations: they told us that we would probably receive clothes from them, and toys and other fun things from Santa and from family. And, that is what we got. Clothing was a regular gift for Christmas, and I was thankful for it. I was not scarred by it, because I was expecting it. What are your expectations for this coming Christmas? If your expectation is that this will be the best Christmas ever, that your ever dream will be fulfilled, that you will bathe in presents and toys and gifts and happiness—then prepare to be disappointed. There will be a letdown. Toys will break. Fights will break out. “Christmas”—or rather, your feelings of Christmas—could be shattered. I am reminded of the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, where a spoiled cousin named Dudley receives for his birthday 37 presents, and he gets angry because it’s one less than the previous year, so his parents promise to buy him two more that day. What are your expectations for this coming Christmas? Advent is a season to remind us to prepare our hearts first and foremost to receive Christ. That should have been the whole focus of the Old Testament people as well. Some of them were ready, others were not. We have a wonderful text for us today about Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. “Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road” (8). They shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (9). Why did they do this? They did this to welcome the Son of David. Interestingly, there is a parallel to this passage. When Solomon, another Son of David, was anointed, Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and many others had Solomon ride on a donkey to be anointed king (1 Kings 1:38–40), and they proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!” (39). The people of Jerusalem expected nothing less of Jesus. They expected another reign of peace from one who could be the perfect king. They had seen and heard of his miracles. He had healed the sick, given sight to the blind, and gave strength to the lame. He had fed thousands with bread and fish. What kind of salvation were they expecting? They were expecting an earthly salvation from the Roman Empire. We should not be surprised by this. We too often set our minds on earthly kings to deliver us from our economic and political woes. We expect them to bring hope and change, to drain the swamp and make America great again. In short, we too desire justice and righteousness to reign among us. Yet our kings and presidents fall short. They always do, and they always will. Sinful man is incapable of establishing what only God can give. Yet they are still God’s ministers to punish evil and praise the good—and for that we pray God would give them wisdom. My point is that we are not much different from the people of Jerusalem. We desire salvation from what our eyes can see. They desired salvation from the oppression they saw. They hailed Jesus as one who could accomplish this. But all of their expectations were wrong. Perhaps that is why they turned on him in just a few days and cried out “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Maybe they were different crowds, but even the silence and hiding of Jesus’s supporters during his crucifixion spoke volumes. Jesus did not come to make everything right in this life. He did miracles of healing not to bring about a new kingdom where no one gets sick in this life, but he healed people to point them to his preaching and to the kingdom of healing that is to come. He cured lepers to demonstrate that he heals the leprosy of sin and death that clings to our mortal bodies. Jesus did not come to make everything right in this life for us. But he does help us as we live here. He does help us endure and heal. He points us to his Word and Sacraments. We can pray to him for all those things. Jesus does work through kings and presidents, as imperfect as they are. We should not expect perfect justice on this side of eternity. We should expect Jesus to work his reign in our hearts as he changes our will to align more perfectly with his. What then should we expect of Jesus? What should the crowds of Jerusalem have expected? A Savior. Hosanna was their plea. It means “Save us now.” Hosanna is our plea. Save us now, O Jesus. Save us from sin when we are tempted. Strengthen our resistance to sin, and forgive us when we fall. Save us from death and the fear of death. Help us to learn to go to our death as we go to our sleep. Raise us again on the last day! Save us from the devil who would tempt us to sin and plant seeds of despair in our hearts. Give us hope in the midst of a darkening world that you will never leave us nor forsake us. O Jesus, you came once humble and lowly, mounted on a donkey. Come to us through lowly means, even those of water, bread, wine, and word. Dear Christian saints, that is how Jesus works. He may not be flashy or showy as he works in your lives. It may be slow, step by step. But do not despise what looks like weakness to the world. Jesus told St. Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). The power of God is shown when Christ rules in your heart. We pray for this to happen in the Lord’s Prayer when we pray, “Thy Kingdom Come.” It is not only a kingdom that will come on the last day, but it is a kingdom in your hearts that Jesus is establishing. And so, in this Advent, it is helpful to remember the three Advents of Jesus. He has and will come three times. There are different ways of expressing this: Gentleness, grace, glory Peace, presence, power Meekness, mercy, might Jesus was not an Alexander the Great who came first in glory then died and works no more. Jesus is greater than any earthly ruler, because he still rules and reigns. He works by ways that the world does not understand. He will come again with glory, might, and power—and we as the Church cannot wait to see this perfect justice and righteousness and peace. Now may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen. Return to Top \| Return to Sermons \| Home \| Email Church Office

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1^st Sunday in Advent (Ad Te Levavi) – December 1, 2024

Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas

Rev. Joshua Woelmer

Text: Matthew 21:1–9

“Waiting and Expectation”

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

My sermon last week was all about waiting for something. It was focused on the End Times. All of our waiting points forward to the fulfillment of what is behind all our hopes and dreams. The season of Advent has begun, and it too is a season of waiting. Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” Christ our Lord has come to the world in gentleness as a baby boy, as a king coming into his city on a donkey. Christ our Lord comes to us now in grace through Word and Sacrament. Christ our Lord will come again in glory on the Last Day.

The focus of Advent shifts the sense of waiting to this question: what are you expecting? Expectation is tied up with waiting. As you wait for Christmas to arrive, you may have many expectations for what it will bring. Whether it is particular gifts that you have put on your list to Santa or the plans you are making to gather together with family, you have expectations.

It is good when your expectations match reality. That is, if a little girl expects to receive a unicorn, she had better temper her expectations to a unicorn stuffed animal rather than the real thing. When I was growing up, my parents were very good at setting our expectations: they told us that we would probably receive clothes from them, and toys and other fun things from Santa and from family. And, that is what we got. Clothing was a regular gift for Christmas, and I was thankful for it. I was not scarred by it, because I was expecting it.

What are your expectations for this coming Christmas? If your expectation is that this will be the best Christmas ever, that your ever dream will be fulfilled, that you will bathe in presents and toys and gifts and happiness—then prepare to be disappointed. There will be a letdown. Toys will break. Fights will break out. “Christmas”—or rather, your feelings of Christmas—could be shattered. I am reminded of the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, where a spoiled cousin named Dudley receives for his birthday 37 presents, and he gets angry because it’s one less than the previous year, so his parents promise to buy him two more that day.

What are your expectations for this coming Christmas? Advent is a season to remind us to prepare our hearts first and foremost to receive Christ.

That should have been the whole focus of the Old Testament people as well. Some of them were ready, others were not. We have a wonderful text for us today about Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. “Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road” (8). They shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (9). Why did they do this? They did this to welcome the Son of David. Interestingly, there is a parallel to this passage. When Solomon, another Son of David, was anointed, Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and many others had Solomon ride on a donkey to be anointed king (1 Kings 1:38–40), and they proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!” (39).

The people of Jerusalem expected nothing less of Jesus. They expected another reign of peace from one who could be the perfect king. They had seen and heard of his miracles. He had healed the sick, given sight to the blind, and gave strength to the lame. He had fed thousands with bread and fish. What kind of salvation were they expecting? They were expecting an earthly salvation from the Roman Empire.

We should not be surprised by this. We too often set our minds on earthly kings to deliver us from our economic and political woes. We expect them to bring hope and change, to drain the swamp and make America great again. In short, we too desire justice and righteousness to reign among us. Yet our kings and presidents fall short. They always do, and they always will. Sinful man is incapable of establishing what only God can give. Yet they are still God’s ministers to punish evil and praise the good—and for that we pray God would give them wisdom.

My point is that we are not much different from the people of Jerusalem. We desire salvation from what our eyes can see. They desired salvation from the oppression they saw. They hailed Jesus as one who could accomplish this.

But all of their expectations were wrong. Perhaps that is why they turned on him in just a few days and cried out “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Maybe they were different crowds, but even the silence and hiding of Jesus’s supporters during his crucifixion spoke volumes.

Jesus did not come to make everything right in this life. He did miracles of healing not to bring about a new kingdom where no one gets sick in this life, but he healed people to point them to his preaching and to the kingdom of healing that is to come. He cured lepers to demonstrate that he heals the leprosy of sin and death that clings to our mortal bodies.

Jesus did not come to make everything right in this life for us. But he does help us as we live here. He does help us endure and heal. He points us to his Word and Sacraments. We can pray to him for all those things. Jesus does work through kings and presidents, as imperfect as they are. We should not expect perfect justice on this side of eternity. We should expect Jesus to work his reign in our hearts as he changes our will to align more perfectly with his.

What then should we expect of Jesus? What should the crowds of Jerusalem have expected? A Savior. Hosanna was their plea. It means “Save us now.” Hosanna is our plea. Save us now, O Jesus. Save us from sin when we are tempted. Strengthen our resistance to sin, and forgive us when we fall. Save us from death and the fear of death. Help us to learn to go to our death as we go to our sleep. Raise us again on the last day! Save us from the devil who would tempt us to sin and plant seeds of despair in our hearts. Give us hope in the midst of a darkening world that you will never leave us nor forsake us.

O Jesus, you came once humble and lowly, mounted on a donkey. Come to us through lowly means, even those of water, bread, wine, and word.

Dear Christian saints, that is how Jesus works. He may not be flashy or showy as he works in your lives. It may be slow, step by step. But do not despise what looks like weakness to the world. Jesus told St. Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). The power of God is shown when Christ rules in your heart. We pray for this to happen in the Lord’s Prayer when we pray, “Thy Kingdom Come.” It is not only a kingdom that will come on the last day, but it is a kingdom in your hearts that Jesus is establishing.

And so, in this Advent, it is helpful to remember the three Advents of Jesus. He has and will come three times. There are different ways of expressing this:

Gentleness, grace, glory

Peace, presence, power

Meekness, mercy, might

Jesus was not an Alexander the Great who came first in glory then died and works no more. Jesus is greater than any earthly ruler, because he still rules and reigns. He works by ways that the world does not understand. He will come again with glory, might, and power—and we as the Church cannot wait to see this perfect justice and righteousness and peace.

Now may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.

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