Advent 1—

“Yes Christ is Coming. But How?”

Nov. 30, 2008

Mark 11:1-10

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

“Behold your king comes to you righteous and having salvation, humble
and mounted on a donkey.” Zech. 9:9

Christmas is coming! Preparations are underway for the most

wonderful time of the year.
We have cut the trees, hung the lights and the stockings, officially
begun the Black Friday gift buying . We might be thinking that the way
to overcome the doldrums of difficult times is to decorate and celebrate
in an even more grandiose and flamboyant fashion.
Christmas is coming—and it’s time to prepare. That’s the
purpose of Advent—to help Christians prepare for Christ. Not just for
His first coming as the Christ child, not just for His final coming on the
clouds as King of Glory, but also—and this is sometimes forgotten---for
His humble coming on the cross. That’s why this lesson for the Gospel
of Mark is assigned as the reading for the first Sunday of Advent. It is
the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zecheriah—“Behold, your king is
coming.”
Like us, God’s people of old frequently had heard this Good
News. In fact, they heard it so often that finally when it was fulfilled
they weren’t ready. Yes, they were ready for a Messiah—but not for

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THE Messiah. But they weren’t ready for the WAY He came—in
humility—and who He was—the humble Suffering Servant.

“Behold Your King Comes to you humble”. Humility. Though not a

popular message this time of year—It is a message that is at the very
core of Christmas—and the Gospel itself.
God was born of Mary, not a queen but a mere maiden.
His father was Joseph—not a king but a carpenter.
He was born in Bethlehem—the “smallest” of cities—as opposed
to Jerusalem.
The Divine deliverer was Himself delivered in a stable—not a
birthing room--wrapped in swaddling clothes—not an expensive
receiving blanket—and attended by simple shepherds—instead of
adoring grandparents.
The humble birth of Jesus set the stage for His humble life and death.
It shouldn’t surprise us to see the Lord God of all creation making His
final earthly entrance on a donkey in order to die. For we are
reminded in Scripture that though He was in very nature God, He did
not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but humbled
Himself and made Himself nothing and became obedient to death, even
death on the cross.
Humbly. That is how God got to Christmas.
Humbly—That is how God lived.
Humbly—that is how He went to the cross.
Humbly—that is how we are to live, die, and celebrate Christmas as
well.

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“All of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble
yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may in due time
exalt you.” 1 Peter 5:5-6
I ask you, dear friends, how does humility fit into your Christmas
preparations? And how can it be made to fit into not only your
Christmas season, but every season of your life?
For example, could we cut back on some of those shopping
excursion that we are planning, and instead spend some quiet time with
our family?
Could we cut out one of the many Christmas parties we have been
invited to in order to spend time with someone who is hurting or who
might think that they don’t have a reason to celebrate this season.
Could we humble ourselves by bending our knees a bit more in
prayer—and in worship as the wise men did. Spending less time on the
things WE REALLY like to do at Christmas, and more time on those
things that GOD loves for us to do.
In humility could we put less effort into the people, events and
activities that are obvious and seen by others—and more into those that
are hidden, forgotten, and unseen--except by God.
For this is the way of God—and TO God. To the One true God who is
hidden. Yes, God reveals Himself in Christ Jesus—but even then He is
hidden in human flesh. God comes to us humble, and Hidden.
To a certain extent we like this idea of hiding at Christmas. We
hide presents, and get pumped up about a guy who secretly slips into
our homes to hide presents while we are sleeping. But the real treasures
that are hidden at Christmas come not with the one who lowers himself

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through a chimney, but who lowers Himself to earth only to be lifted up
on the cross. The lasting Gifts of God are hidden in Christ Jesus--not
BY Him—but IN Him.

Tradition tells us that Mary made it to Bethlehem on the back of a

donkey. Who would’ve thought that God was hidden in her womb?
We look at the manger and see the camels, cows, and of course,
the donkey—we see the shepherds and wise men all looking at the Lord.
But the Lord is a baby. God is hidden in diapers—in a crèche.
Not too long after evil Herod threatens to kill Jesus—and so his
family goes into hiding. In Egypt.
For thirty years we hear very little from or about Him. It’s as if
God is in hiding—waiting for the right moment to be revealed. But
when He is—He doesn’t look, sound, or act like the Messiah people were
expecting. He doesn’t dress the part or for that matter play the part
very well. This supposed Messiah looks an awful lot like one of them.
So much so that they find it convenient to crucify Him.
There in the entrance to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday the faithful
see God—in plain sight though hidden on the back of a donkey.
There in the praetorium, facing off against Pilate and the chief
priests we see the Word of God in the flesh—though He doesn’t speak.
There in His suffering we see the savior who delivers from
suffering—though he is hidden in his public humiliation.
There on the cross we see the Christ—the king of the Jews—
Crowned with thorns,
Covered in blood,

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 Hidden by the hate and accusations and curses that are
hurled at Him. There on the cross the world sees Him dying. And in
His death the faithful see life—His and ours!
For three days later we see Him risen from the dead, then
ascended into heaven, one day to return again—visible to every eye—
believing or not.
For those whose eyes have been opened now in faith, we don’t
have to wait until that day to see Him. He is clearly revealed to us now
—in a similar fashion that He was before—that is to say, He is hidden.
We see Him hidden in His word, seen with the ears--and in His
sacrament. Hidden in the water of baptism, and in the bread and wine
of the Lord’s Supper. Though hidden, He is there. The church
throughout the ages has known this to be true, which is why we sing the
words of the Sanctus just prior to communion. “Hosanna, blessed is He
who comes in the Name of the Lord.” The words of welcome that
greeted Jesus on that Palm Sunday, the words of welcome that we sing
as we receive our humble, victorious king!
Yes, Christmas is coming! But how? For some it is coming in
obvious ways—glitz, glamour, gluttony, greed. These might be called
the way of the “Clausians”—there for all to see. But for Christians there
is another way. A humble and a hidden way. A better way, for it is the
way of Jesus, The way of the cross, the way of death and life. That’s the
direction the donkey was headed when it carried Him into Jerusalem.
May that be our direction as well.
Amen.

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