First
Sunday in Advent (B)
December
3, 2023
Text: Mark 11:1-10
The
great G. K. Chesterton once wrote, “If I am to answer the question, ‘How would
Christ solve modern problems if He were on earth today?’, I must answer it
plainly; and for those of my faith there is only one answer. Christ is on earth today; alive on a thousand
altars; and He does solve people’s problems exactly as He did when He was on
earth in the more ordinary sense.”[1] (The quote is worth its weight in gold,
though quality may vary with the rest of the essay.)
How
does Christ solve problems ancient and modern?
He comes! He comes into
them. He comes into their very midst. Advent (Adventus, which means, coming). He comes into our flesh… then,
conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary… now, in that same
flesh, the crucified flesh, the risen flesh, the glorified flesh that sits at
God’s right hand and clothes Himself with bread and wine by the power of
His almighty Word.
He
clothes you with Himself in Baptism.
He speaks Himself into your ears, your heart, your mind, your
body, your soul, and into every situation, in Scripture and preaching. He invades you, bodily, in the
Holy Supper. He does not abandon you in
misery and sin. He comes. Really.
Substantially. Present for you.
What
a mess this life can be. How is your
marriage? Perhaps it is strong,
fortified by the Savior’s Word and gifts.
In which case, thanks be to God!
That is His doing. But do
not become complacent. Your marriage can
only be strong by His continued presence.
And
what if it is not strong? What if
relations are strained, and spouses are hurting? What then?
What is the answer? Jesus
comes. He comes into your marriage
with His faithfulness to His Bride, the Church… with His faithfulness to you. H e comes with the salve of forgiveness, for
your sins against God, and for your sins against one another. He comes to reconcile what sin has
separated, to make whole what iniquity has divided. Now, He does not dispense some magic pill
that makes all your problems go away.
But then again, what disease ever magically disappears? The cure takes time, a physician’s care (your
pastor), and diligence to follow the doctor’s orders. It comes in the skillful application of the
disinfecting and healing medicine of God’s holy Word, which can sting. It can hurt.
But there is hope. There is
help. You will find it in the presence
of Jesus Christ.
How
is your family? The pressures of, and
upon, family life today, are immense.
Time. Money. Effort.
Academics, activities, financial pressure, social pressure, within a
society hostile to marriage and children and family. The temptation, so often, is to cope with
these pressures, not by confronting the source of the pressure itself with that
alone which can help, God’s Word… but seeking relief in the neglect of that
Word…. Neglect of the spiritual life, the Gospel, the Church. Neglect of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps
your family is doing well at this moment.
If that is the case, praise be to Christ! But you know the next conflict, the next
crisis, under pressure from the outside, or boiling under the surface on the
inside, is coming. No family is
immune. Not even the Christian family. Perhaps especially not the Christian family,
which is under constant attack by Satan.
Which is why our Lord Jesus Christ was born into an all-too-human
family, embroiled in conflict and drama, compelled by the government to travel
at the most inconvenient of times, for the purpose of census and taxation. An unwed mother. The threat of divorce. Gossip and slander. Perilous travels. Poverty.
And no room in the inn. Into a
stinking stable, surrounded by beasts, He comes. To redeem it all. Again, no magic pill. Rather, His suffering. His blood.
For you. For your family. Infiltrating your home and all your
relationships with reconciliation and relief, rest and refreshment, by means of
God’s redeeming and renewing Word and Sacraments.
By
the way, this Word is for the single, too; those single by choice, and those
who long for a spouse and family. It is
for the lonely. For the widowed. For the orphaned. For the estranged. God hears your cries, and He sets the
solitary in a family (Ps. 68:6). Here
you are, in the Father’s House, with brothers and sisters who, for all their
faults and failures, love you, and will love you into eternity. Because they are in Christ, and you are in
Christ, in one holy Communion. He
comes, this One who tread the winepress alone (Is. 63:3), who knows the
bitterness of loneliness and desertion and abandonment. This One will not abandon you. He will never leave you or forsake you (Heb.
13:5).
How
about your work life? Oh, why must you
bring that up, Pastor? Is your work
fulfilling, or is it mundane? How are
your relationships with your coworkers? And
what about your stress-level? Our Lord
knows what it is to work, to labor. The
carpenter’s Son undoubtedly learned the trade.
But that would not be the only wood upon which He would toil. Upon the cross extended, by the cross
expended. By the sweat and blood of His
brow, bearing the curse of your sin.
Carrying it upon His shoulders.
Nailed to it. Pierced by the
accursed thorns. And all this borne, in
many a case, and by all appearance, in vain… for those who would reject
it. “Who has believed our message and
to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Is. 53:1; NIV). But for those who do believe it, who do not
reject it, but receive it by faith, you… the crucified and risen Lord
Jesus Christ invests your work… even the most mundane, even the least
rewarding, even that which seems to be for naught… with Himself, and
with profound meaning, as He, Himself, provides for your neighbor
through your hands, your efforts, your labor.
He has redeemed your work, and He speaks His blessing over it, and into
it, as it is consecrated (as are all things) by God’s Word and prayer (1 Tim.
4:5).
What
about the great national and geopolitical problems of our age? What about the miseries you bear within your
own heart and body? How does Christ
solve problems ancient and modern, cosmic and personal? He comes! Advent!
It is not at all an easy answer, though, on the face of it, it is really
quite simple: “The Sunday School answer,” as we say… Jesus. But you know as He rode upon a donkey to the
acclamations of the Palm Sunday crowd, He was riding to His death, to
suffer your death, and your hell.
The answer to the problems of the fallen creation is the coming of the
Creator in the flesh of men. The answer
is the death of God.
And
the life of God! Given as He comes
still in the flesh, to you, and into you, by His Word and Supper. To mend what is broken. To release you from all that binds you. To send away the sins that afflict you in the
river of water and blood flowing from His pierced side. He hears your hosannas (save us,
now!). And He rides in on words and
water, bread and wine, to invade and infuse you with resurrection life.
What
do you want? What do you need? Where are you looking for relief and the
answers to all your problems? Beloved,
look no further. Don’t you see? Jesus is the One you’ve been waiting
for. He is your salvation and help. He is the One who satisfies you and fulfills
you. He is the life you’ve been craving
and grasping after in all the wrong places.
But He comes to you. For
you. Soon, the Lord Jesus will
advent visibly, in all His glory, and then you will see clearly what you now
know only by faith. Until then, know
that He has not abandoned you in any facet of your life. Here He is. In the flesh.
Take, eat. Take drink. “Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come…
rescue us from the threatening perils of our sins.” He does.
Thank God, He does. In the Name
of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] G. K. Chesterton, “Our
Tradition: If Christ Should Come,” https://crisismagazine.com/vault/our-tradition-if-christ-should-come
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