1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our
Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The message from God’s Word today is taken
from the Gospel of Luke 19:28-40, it’s entitled, “When the Parade Passes By,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. Have you ever felt like you’re in the
wrong place at the wrong time? Or, like you know where you are but can’t figure
out how you got there? So it seems today. Everything is out of whack. It’s November, and it’s Advent, the
preparation for Christmas. We expect to be transported to Bethlehem, to a
manger, surrounded by animals. Instead, our Gospel takes us to Jerusalem with
Jesus riding on a donkey. I know
it’s only November, but Santa Claus has already appeared at the Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day parade, and Christmas lights have popped up all over our
neighborhood. In just two weeks, we have a big Christmas party at work, and
then, a week later, we’ll have another. And wonder of wonders, I’ve already
purchased a couple of Christmas gifts. For the most part, I’m already in the
Christmas spirit.
3. Strangely
enough, though, the traditional Gospel for the First Sunday in Advent is the
same as that of Palm Sunday—Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It seems, in
a way, wrong. Out of place. Say what you will about Christ’s coming at the end
of time, but Advent’s all about preparing our hearts for the coming of the
Christ Child. Children everywhere are already rehearsing for Christmas
programs, getting ready to reenact the story of Mary, with child, riding on a
donkey into Bethlehem. And instead, we’re saddled with a story about Jesus riding
on a donkey into Jerusalem. In Advent, we should be moving toward a celebration
of our Lord’s birth in Bethlehem, and instead we hear a story about our Lord
moving toward his death in Jerusalem. We should all be going to the theater to
see the latest Christmas movie, and instead we’re treated to what looks like
the prequel to Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.
4. But
maybe there’s something we can learn—something that, like Mary, we can take
with us and ponder in our hearts. Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. “Ride on, ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp
ride on to die” (LSB 441:2). For
this reason, our Lord came from heaven. For this reason, the Son of God became
the Son of Mary. The story that we hear today is the story that gives Christmas
its meaning and lasting value. The peace
and joy of Bethlehem’s cradle is won for us at Jerusalem’s cross. It’s for this reason that we don’t want the parade
of Jesus going to Jerusalem to die on the cross for our sins to pass us by this
Advent season.
5. Pretend
for a moment that you are standing in Jerusalem about 2,000 years ago, a part
of that first Palm Sunday parade. You might cheer or weep or simply watch
silently. Parades are usually stirring. They are a means of honoring heroes or
celebrities. Here in Luke 19, we’re told
that Jesus planned His own parade? He didn’t wait for His friends to give Him a
gold watch. Up to this point, He had been keeping a low profile, cautioning
those who had been healed and helped, “Go
and tell no one.” But now the time had come for some recognition. Jesus
needed a parade and He knew that the world needed this particular parade. He
planned His parade unashamedly for His own sake, as well as for the sake of His
followers, then and now.
6. Wives
have a way of keeping us humble. I heard about a man who was receiving an
honorary degree at some great university. In introducing him, the president
said, “The man we are honoring today is a
great man. You might say he’s a very great man. I would even say he is a very,
very great man.” Driving home after the ceremony, the man turned to his
wife and said, “Dear, how many very, very
great men do you think there are in the world?” She said, “One less than you think there are, dear.”
7. Jesus
is the one who is truly humble. He
decided to have a parade to make a statement about His coming to be a servant,
to show that He came as a humble king riding on a donkey to die on the cross
for our sins. You might wonder why Jesus used an unused donkey in this Palm
Sunday parade. Anything offered to God had to be pure and perfect. So Jesus
chose an unused, unbroken animal. The donkey was a symbol of peace in those
days. Horses were symbols of military might. Conquering generals came on
horses. An ambassador coming on a peaceful mission rode a donkey. Jesus was an
ambassador of peace from the kingdom of heaven.
8. Jesus
tells His disciples what to say to the owners of the colt: “The Lord has need of it” (v. 31). They must have known who Jesus
was and therefore that explanation was enough. Many people were so poor that a
single family couldn’t afford a donkey. A group might chip in and corporately
buy one to share. And yet when these owners are told that the Master needs
their donkey, they do not even protest. They don’t ask, “Where are you taking him and for how long? Will he be sacrificed?”
They gave the colt gladly. As I read
these verses, I couldn’t help wondering if I could give up something precious
in my life simply because Jesus asked me to. Of course, if we know what that
one thing is, we at least know where the growing edge is in our lives. Is it
money, home, position, family? Could we give Him that one thing if we were not
sure of getting it back again?
9. The
season of Advent is one of assessment. It’s a time to remember that the things
of this world are indeed already passing away, a time to set our hearts, once
more, upon things above. A time to look at the child who came to die, a time to
crucify our sinful passions. And so we
sing, “Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord.” And we recognize that he comes to die for our sins. And
so we sing, “Blessed is he who comes in
the name of the Lord!” (Mt 21:9). We remember that we have been baptized
into the name of the Lord. Returning to our Baptism, we renounce, once more,
the devil, all his works, and all his sinful ways. We don’t simply cry out
against the evils of this world, but we repent of the evils of our own heart.
We recognize the troubles we have caused, the damage we have done, the friends
we have hurt, and the responsibilities we haven’t met. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord, and we who also bear his name now also take up our crosses and follow
him.
10. Yes,
Advent is a time for repentance, a time of sadness over sin. But it is also a
time of hope. For if we are sinners, we have a Savior. And if the end is near,
so also, in Christ, is there a new beginning. If we have made a mess with our
lives, Christ has come to make things right. And he will come again.
11. This
parade here in Luke 19 was for you and me because Jesus is still passing by in
your life and mine, giving us one more chance to follow Him as the Lord and
King of our lives. In that original
crowd was Bartimaeus, who was once blind and now could see. There was Lazarus,
once dead and now alive. The parade began in his home town of Bethany. Nicodemus
was in the crowd, a secret disciple who ultimately stood up to be counted.
We’re all those people and many more. The parade, then and now, gives us one
more chance to respond to the King.
12. For
the world, Christmas is a big game of pretend—of creating an peaceful world
that doesn’t exist, speaking of a peace that doesn’t exist. But for us in the
Christian Church, Christmas is life itself. So, in this season of Advent, let
us prepare our hearts once more for our Lord’s coming. We don’t want Jesus’ parade to pass us by.
Let us cast away the works of darkness and be adorned with every good work and
with acts of charity and generosity. Let us forgive as we have been forgiven. And
let us embrace the child who came to embrace us. And let us offer up our lives
as gifts to the One who came to offer up his life as his gift of salvation for
us all. Amen.
