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Greeting the Coming King
Grace to you and
peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Jesus Christ—the
Lord, the Savior, the King—He’s coming! The crowd was electric. Here comes
Jesus, the descendant of King David, riding a donkey into the holy city, just
like his famous ancestor did. Surely He is coming to save us from these evil
Romans and from King Herod. The disciples had already put their cloaks on the
donkey to make it fit for the King; the crowd followed suit, people laying
their cloaks on the road and waving palm branches as if Jesus was on His way to
be crowned.
He did not come to
be that kind of king. Anyone who had paid attention to Him during His earthly
ministry would know that. When Jesus was born, the Magi came to Herod, seeking
the One who would be King of the Jews; old King Herod thought there was a
usurper. But He did not come to be that kind of king. When He fed the 5,000,
they wanted to crown Him king for the sake of His miraculous food. But He did
not come to be that kind of king. The only two thrones Jesus would know would
be the manger where He lay at His birth and the cross where He was raised up
before those He came to save. He did not come to be an earthly king. He came to
die.
Still, He was
always greeted as King. When Jesus was born, the angels sang songs to the glory
of God concerning the newborn Savior King. The magi greeted Him with gifts of
gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When Jesus entered into Jerusalem, riding a donkey, He was greeted
with palm branches and shouts: “Hosanna
to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Even
the Roman soldiers and Pilate the Governor hailed Jesus as King, even though it
was in mockery. They adorned Him with a crown of thorns, wrapping Him in purple
robes, placing a stick as a scepter in His hand; they knelt before Him; Pilate
hung a sign over Christ’s head in which he called Jesus “King of the Jews.” Everyone knows: when Jesus comes, He comes as
King.
This is the season
of Advent. It’s as true today as it was two-thousand years ago: Jesus Christ,
the Lord, the Savior, the King, is coming! So how do we greet Him appropriately?
After all, “He comes to judge the
nations, a terror to His foes, a light of consolation and blessed hope to those
who love the lord’s appearing.” How does one greet a King? One honors him.
Whether He’s the most wonderful king ever or the stingiest miser ever to sit on
a throne, one does not dare to turn one’s back on the king. And so we kneel
before Him. And then we beg for His indulgence. This morning it sounded like
this: “Stir up, we implore you, your
power, O Lord, and come that by your protection we may be rescued from the
threatening perils of our sins and be saved by your mighty deliverance; for you
live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.”
And as the best of
kings will do, He will answer graciously. He will, indeed, save us from our
sins. He came into Jerusalem,
heading for the cross. He came to die, and in doing so, to save us from our
sins and from the death our sins earned us. After three days He rose again so
that we would never die. He delivers that salvation to us this day in His body
and blood, given for us to eat and drink for the remission of our sins.
This Advent season,
as we kneel before our King, the only hope that we sinners have to rescue us
from the “threatening perils” of our
sins is the coming of our Lord—Jesus coming to us with His Cross-won gifts in
the Sacrament of the Altar. What a wonderful gift from our most gracious King! “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord!” In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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