Happy New Year, brothers and sisters in Christ! You walked in today and things look really different. There’s a lot of blue. Over there is a wreathe with candles. There’s even snow on the ground that we didn’t have last Sunday! It’s a different look for a new church year. While the rest of the world has rushed into Christmas, the church is strolling into the first season of the church year: Advent.

What is advent? It’s a word that means “coming” or “arrival.” So, the season of advent focuses on the coming of the Lord Jesus. We can think of the Lord’s coming in three ways. In our Epistle reading, Paul speaks of Jesus’ advent on the Last Day when he writes, “The day is at hand.” There are echoes of it also in the Old Testament reading from Isaiah. Today’s Psalm reminds us that we gather together for worship in the “house of the Lord.” This is His house, dedicated in His name to His Word. Jesus teaches that wherever two or three are gather in His name for this purpose—He’s here! So, Jesus’ advent among us in Word and Sacrament happens frequently! For He has promised, “I am with you always to the end of the age.” The third advent of Jesus (really the first advent) is His coming in human flesh. That emphasis pops up in the Gospel reading, with echoes of it in the Old Testament reading.

The season of Advent prepares our hearts and minds for Christ’s coming long ago as a man, Christ’s coming now in Word and Sacrament, and Christ’s coming in the future to judge the living and the dead.

Every year, Advent kicks off with the end in mind. Christians like to say “Jesus is the reason for the reason” to remind everyone that it’s not all about Santa, gatherings, presents, or pretty decorations and lights. Those are all great. All of those contribute to lasting memories. All of those fill people with warm fuzzies and joy. Have fun! Relax as much as you can! And enjoy the festivities of Christmas and everything that goes with it! Just don’t let the glitz and glamor overshadow Jesus. He is the reason we celebrate Christmas. Christmas is Christ’s Mass (in reference to the chief worship service that takes place on that day).

There’s so much more to it than Jesus being “the reason for the season.” Notice, we haven’t begun Advent with the more obvious prophecies of the coming of the Savior. We haven’t begun Advent with the angel Gabriel’s incredible announcement that Mary will be the mother of God. We haven’t heard the news of John the Baptist’s birth.

Advent begins with Palm Sunday. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey and her colt. Many in the crowd wave Palm branches. Others lay cloaks and palms in the road to construct a makeshift royal carpet. The day is electric. It’s exciting. You’d wanna be there to witness it. The Son of David, the Prophet like Moses, the great miracle worker and teacher, the one who comes in the name of the Lord is entering the city. The crowd is cheering. The crowd is chanting. The crowd is riled up for this long-awaited entry into Jerusalem.

The frenzy of the people is unmatched. They know He’s the chosen One. All the evidence is there. He’s the son of Joseph the carpenter, from the tribe of Judah, from the house of David. They’ve been waiting so long for this moment. And now, it’s here! They bless His holy name—calling out, “Hosanna!! Save us!!” He’s the king they have been looking for. He’s the one they hope will redeem Israel. Advent begins at the end.

Five days later (after the excitement has passed, after the drama of that incredible entry by the heir apparent) Jesus hangs on a cross, bloodied, battered, and breathless. He breaths His last, and He bows His head. The Son of David (the One who comes in the name of the Lord, the Messiah who received shouts of “Hosanna!” just a few days earlier) is dead. Hope seems to die with Him.

But then on the third day, everything changes—and I do mean everything! The reports of His bodily resurrection begin to spread among His followers. News of angels saying He has risen. Accounts from various followers that they personally have seen Him arisen. If He who died, has now risen from death, then that means there was something different about His death.

Being the one eternal, almighty, infinite substance of all creation, He’s the Lawgiver. He has a standard that He expects His creatures to uphold. Any sort of authority has standards that they require to be upheld. That all comes from God. Sadly, we break His standards. We sin against His Law. We rebel against His kingdom.

The punishment for such treason is death. Therefore, with the people we cry out to the Lord: “Hosanna! Save us!” We acknowledge our sins before God, pleading and appealing to Him for grace and mercy. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” That amazing, amazing forgiveness and cleansing comes to us through Jesus’ precious blood.

Scripture says, “Jesus bore our sins in His body on the tree.” Scripture says, “God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Scripture says, “All we like sheep were going astray, and God has laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all.” Jesus said, “It is finished.”

Most people love the Christmas story for obvious reasons. It’s a charming story. It not only tells us the amazing account of the Savior’s birth, it also floods the minds of many people with the memories and nostalgia of Christmases past. Advent doesn’t begin here. Advent begins with why Jesus has come. Advent brings us face to face with the reality of sin. If we hadn’t sinned against God, His Son wouldn’t have had to pay for our sins. He’d be walking with us in the cool of the day, as He walked with Adam and Eve before sin. Sin messed everything up, but Jesus makes everything right.

Jesus is born from the tribe of Judah. He’s of the house and lineage of David. He’s worthy of the praise and admiration He received that Palm Sunday. He literally is from the royal family, and He would have been king in Israel had the earthly kingdom still existed.

But the earthly kingdom no longer existed, and so, Jesus’ kingdom isn’t from this world. Jesus is “He who comes in the name of the Lord,” the Messiah, God’s only-begotten Son, born of the virgin Mary. He has been sent by His Father, and He has willingly come for a very detailed and focused purpose. Jesus has come for the dedicated purpose of redeeming the world from sin, death, the devil, and hell. Jesus has come to save His people from their sins. Jesus has come for the life of the world. Jesus has come so that by believing in His name you may have abundant life, peace, joy, hope, comfort, and every good and perfect gift unto eternity. For even though “the wages of sin is death, the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Advent begins with the end in mind. The first thing we hear as Advent begins is Jesus’ triumphal entry just before His passion. Thus, our hearts and minds are prepared for the reason for the season: Jesus has come to save through His death and resurrection into which you are baptized. Blessed is He! Amen.