A myHT Fortress
Thursday, December 16, 2010
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Thursday, December 2, 2010
Hosanna! Blessed is He Who Comes: A Homily on Matthew 21:1-9
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” This morning we hear the chants of praise echoing from the streets of Jerusalem, welcoming Jesus. Voices raised singing psalms to the Savior King as He humbly entered the Holy City, riding on a donkey.
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” These words from Psalm 118 were chanted to Jesus then, and they are sung to Him even now. Throughout the centuries the Church has continued to praise the Lord with this beautiful confession of faith.
This morning we hear a confession of faith from new friends in our midst. They have been baptized. They have been catechized in the faith. Today, they acknowledge that gift.
But what about this confession of faith in the Gospel for this day? What do these words confess? “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna!” “Hosanna” is a Hebrew word that means, “Save us now, we pray.” It is what David sang in Psalm 118:25.
“Save us, we pray, O LORD!” The Lord was coming! And the crowds gathering around Jesus, trying to get a glimpse of Him, singing for joy, did not take this word lightly. This single word was confessing faith in Christ! The One they shouted to was the One whom they believed could save them!
Granted, even five days before His death, the people still did not understand how Jesus was coming to save them. Was He going to incite riots or work a miracle against the Roman garrison in Jerusalem? No one knew. They just knew they were expecting great power and majesty, like one would expect from royalty!
We follow that pattern too. We want our coming Jesus who will snap His fingers and produce all that we want or desire. We want a Jesus who will make life easy and trouble-free and will simply take away any illnesses or accidents or hardships from us and our loved ones. We want a Jesus who will bless our parish, school, and day care with lots of money and popularity. We want a Jesus who will give us an easy but high-paying job, a big house, expensive cars, and all the latest things that our friends have. We want a Jesus who – plain and simple – is not Jesus!
Repent. The people of Jerusalem may not have known any better. But you do. Lusting after the power, and glory of God in the image that we want Him to be, and trying to make that power and glory our own, has been a favorite sin ever since the Fall in the Garden of Eden. And imitating the ways of the world, as if its wisdom and ways were desired more than God’s, only leads to pain and judgment for the church.
Yet the Lord does not manipulate and remove trials from you. He does not wave a royal scepter like a wand and make you a force to be reckoned with, in the ways of the world. Instead, He surrounds you with His love and grace and forgiveness, as He bears your burdens and carries you through every trial and valley.
The wrong idea of Jesus? Even so, in this single word, “Hosanna,” we know that they looked to Jesus as the coming Savior. We join them in this desire to adore our God and King.
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” With these words, the people of Jerusalem also confessed that Jesus is the Son of David. Not only is He the coming Savior, but He is the coming King! This Descendant of King David was recognized for who He was, again, even if not completely understood. He is a Savior. And as a descendant of David, He is One who could claim the throne. He is Messiah – the Anointed One – the Christ who is the Promised King. This Royal Heir had Divine right to rule over them, and they welcomed the Anointed One!
Yes, Jesus is King. He does rule over all. But His kingdom is not of this world. He is, as many Hebrew prayers state, “King of the Universe.” Yet He has no geographic realm. His rule is spiritual, godly, and eternal. He goes beyond any limits of our imaginations for our ultimate King.
Why? Because the Son of David is also the Son of God! He IS the LORD, God Almighty in the flesh. Jesus Christ, our Savior and King is our God!
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” With the Name of God invoked, He brings His presence to His people. When two or three are gathered in His Name – “The Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” – God blesses and bestows His presence.
Jesus, being God, brought the presence of the Lord wherever He was. Riding into Jerusalem, Jesus was (and is) God in the flesh! They were blessed to behold their King and to see and hear God – Jesus – coming in the Name of the Lord! But they were not alone!
Every Lord’s Day, we are blessed to behold and hear Him too. We hear Jesus Christ as He speaks through the lips of our pastor. We behold and hear Him as we approach His altar, tasting Christ and the forgiveness, life, and salvation that He gives. Miraculously, our Savior-King comes and enters our bodies with His own Body and Blood, feeding our bodies and souls to give us life!
We hear Him and receive Him week after week in His Word and in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. Jesus DOES come to us. And every Sunday – every Lord’s Day – is a celebration of that presence.
That is why the Divine Service is the most important thing in any Christian’s life, whether they realize it or not. It is central to our faith. It is the heartbeat of the Church. It is where God comes and gives Himself as a Gift! It is where the Lord feeds us so we have the strength and nourishment to continue in life. When people truly understand this, they desire to come to the Divine Service.
Today our new friends who are confirmed or are transferring in are swearing to the Lord God Almighty to be faithful and regular in coming to His House, receiving His preaching, confessing your sin, and partaking of His Holy Eucharist. This is a solemn vow that there is nothing more important to you than coming to the Divine Service in Christ’s Church!
The devil and the world will tempt you. They will try to convince you how boring it is to come to the Divine Service. It is a tough battle, and Satan will try hard to harass you. Even when you do come, the devil will try to convince you to let your heart and mind drift from the Holy Gifts that our Savior gives.
But our dear and blessed Savior is there. The same Jesus who hears our “Hosannas” and “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” is still there. He continues to forgive us, even as we drift during the Divine Service, through the evry Gifts in that Service.
And with joy, we respond to that forgiveness, singing as His redeemed saints, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”