Back to the Basics (Matthew 21:1-11)
Rev. David French
11/27/22

When we’re experiencing a difficult time in life, one of the things we often do is step back and take stock of things. You know, consider what’s working and what isn’t. What do we absolutely need and what can we live without? Just about everyone who’s gone through this self-imposed consideration has, at one time or another, had the thought, “I need to get back to the basics.”

Now, honest self-reflection can be eye opening. It can help us to see how much we’ve changed, really from any point in our lives. It can be just as eye-opening to realize 
 that change hasn’t always been a good thing. I used to wonder how different the world would be if we did go back to what some of us think of as the basics. What if we did away with cell phones and texting? Do you think auto accidents would decrease? Would grammar and spelling improve? What if we did away with the internet and Facebook? Would relationships improve? What if we did away with “reality TV” and all the vulgarity, with its innuendos, that passes for entertainment nowadays? Would morality and civility increase? Clearly this would require a good deal of sacrifice, which is why I don’t see a return “back to the basics” anytime soon.

As we consider our gospel lesson for this morning, we recognize it as the Palm Sunday reading as well., and that’s by design. This has been the appointed lesson for the first Sunday in Advent for centuries. But it does lead one to ask “why?” Why do we start off the new church year and the Christmas season with an Easter-time lesson? 

In our lesson, why was Jesus heading down the road to Jerusalem on what was the first Palm Sunday? As I trust, you were thinking, “His only reason for going to Jerusalem was to be crucified that coming Friday, and so, pay for the sins of the world with His holy and precious blood. And what does all this have to do with getting back to the basics of Advent?”

Well, as many of you understand, the season of Advent is not just a time to start preparing for Christmas! I know that’s how it’s often treated. The blue paraments, the Christmas decorations, the hymnody, the kids practicing their Christmas hymns 
, these are just a few things we notice around here that remind us that Christmas is right around the corner. Never mind the fact that we’ve already been bombarded with “Christmas cheer and sales” from all kinds of retailers for about a month now. All our senses are telling us, no matter where we’re at, that Christmas is only a few short weeks away. It’s time to get ready. It’s time to prepare. 

Now that being true, our Christian senses, if you will, begin to focus on the manger and the nativity, and you know what? That’s a good thing! I certainly hope that the sight of an Advent wreath or a Christmas tree or the sounds of a Christmas carol triggers in your mind thoughts of baby Jesus before the shopping list on your phone. But there’s so much more to this season than just the joy of the baby Jesus born on Christmas Day. Again, the word “Advent” simply means “coming.” We are waiting for His second coming even as we celebrate His first. So, it’s during this season that the church takes the time to refocus our thinking on God’s interaction with mankind – beginning with the coming of our Lord and Savior for the sole purpose of living in our place and then offering His blood as the payment for our sins.

Without a doubt, the circumstances of our Lord’s birth, that is the nativity, is certainly an important part of this divine interaction. The womb of Mary and the Bethlehem manger are the starting points for Christ’s long and purposeful journey to Calvary and our salvation. But that’s just it. They are the starting points of our salvation history. A baby named Jesus was born on Christmas Day, and that promise means joy and peace on earth. But we also celebrate a 33-year-old man named Jesus who suffered, died, and was resurrected on that first Easter morning, which means peace in heaven and forgiveness for all humanity. 

Sadly, many people never make the connection between the two. They never connect the two by taking the time to reflect on why the Son of God came to this fallen and sinful world in the first place. Question: Why was Jesus conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary in the humble little town of Bethlehem? Answer: because of our complete inability to bring about our own salvation. That fact is what makes Advent a penitential season really no different than Lent. It’s a time we intentionally set aside to meditate on the One who is the only way of our salvation. And that means our Advent meditations have to take us from the manger back to the cross because it is by faith alone that we understand this child was conceived and born for one reason: to offer His life blood from the cross as the payment for the sin of the world. 

That’s why this Palm Sunday reading became, and remains, the lens we look through as we return to the beginning of a new church year. You see, this lesson helps refocus the faithful by pointing to the real reason for the season because the manger only makes sense when understood through the death and resurrection of Christ. There we see God’s saving grace isn’t just restricted to one day or night in history some 2,000 years ago. To be sure, on that night Jesus came into the world to begin His ministry among sinners.

Jesus still comes to sinners through His life-giving Word and sacraments today. And yet, many will miss the fullness of this blessed reality and the comfort that it brings because they have, in their minds, stumbled over the teaching that God is Emanual; that He is truly with us in His Word and sacrament.

And so, as we focus on the basics, we again ask ourselves, “Do I live knowing that, like a thief in the night, Jesus can come at any time to bring me to be with Him, or do I live as though I have time? Do I really fear, love, and trust in God above all things?” My friends, our thoughts, words, and deeds betray us all. That’s why Jesus came, to live or fulfill the law for us.

You see, sinners like you and me must never forget that every second of every day in every season is all about the repentance God works in each of us and the beautiful words of forgiveness He speaks to all who, guided by the Holy Spirit, call on His name in faith; the faith He also worked in you on the day of your baptism. And so, our loving and gracious God is always at work. He desires salvation for all through the forgiveness He earned and gives to all who call on Him in faith. God is not far from us, and we don’t have to undergo any kind of spiritual journey to discover some “hidden wisdom. 

My friends, all that is needed has been done for you by Christ and is offered to you by grace. So, let’s get back to the basics. By the working of His spirit in your heart, repent and turn to Him who loves you and will one day welcome you to your eternal home as His own precious child. 

In His name, Amen.