November 30, 2025 – FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT – YEAR A
Isaiah 2:1–5 | Romans 13:(8–10) 11–14 | Matthew 21:1–11
Our Humble King Re-Claims Us
Grace mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today is the first Sunday in Advent and the beginning of a new church year. In the church we begin our year with a time of preparation and expectation for Christmas. We call this season Advent because during this time we retell the story of how God’s people waited for and finally experienced the Advent — the Coming — of our King, Jesus Christ.
Our three readings for this first Sunday in Advent give us three images — three pictures — to help us begin this Advent journey.
First is the image from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. He tells us about a day when the mountain of the Lord will be established. A day when the light of God’s love will shine brightly from Jerusalem. A day when all nations will flow to that light, to learn and to live in the peace of God, which was promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to King David and all the patriarch of old and which is fully realized in the Advent of our King, Jesus Christ. As Isaiah writes,
Many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 2:3 ESV)
This image looks forward to a time when the one true God will be recognized and revered in all the world. People will see Him and love Him and seek to learn His Ways and walk in His paths. And as this vision goes on, we see that at that time there will be no more war among nations, or between individuals. Instead we will all live out the law of love with joy and gladness. We will walk in in the light of the LORD. What Isaiah sees in this vision is paradise. He sees the beautiful picture of that complete restoration of fellowship between God and man, which was lost because of sin. Isaiah sees the eternal Kingdom of God, which will finally and completely come on the Day of the Lord and which will remain forevermore.
So first, we have the picture of paradise. But then there’s the second image, which we read about in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul says,
You know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. (Romans 13:11-12 ESV)
Here, in Romans, Paul says that he sees the light too. He sees that hope of a glorious future. But notice that he sees it from a different perspective. That future that Isaiah sees…it is coming, but it has not yet fully arrived. It is nearer to us now than when we first believed, but it is not yet fully here. The night is far gone…but that means it’s still night. Oh yes, the light is coming…and we can see it… But there is still so much darkness in the world around us.
Now this picture is more like the world that you and I know. There is hope, but still, there is a lot of darkness. And we see that darkness in broken marriages and in families that can’t get along. We see it in the daily headlines as the bad news of crime and corruption, disaster and tragedy strike with depressing regularity. We see it our own lives as we struggle with mental, physical and emotional ailments that just won’t go away. And we see it, most of all, in our struggle with temptation and sin. Yes, we have hope. And we look forward to that Day when the mountain of the Lord will be established. We long for it, with eagerness. We desperately want the light to shine brighter. But still, still, there is a lot of darkness that you and I must face.
These first two images, in Isaiah and in Romans, put us in a place of hope that is not yet fulfilled. They connect us to a promise that has not yet come to pass. And if you think about it, that is the essence of the season of Advent. Here we are gathered together, looking forward to the celebration of Christmas and to the joyful songs of angels and men who welcomed their Savior into the world. But we’re not quite there yet. So we must wait. You know, that’s the reason blue is the color for our celebration of Advent. It’s meant to remind us of the color of the sky in the hour before dawn. The light is coming, we can see it changing the world, but it’s not quite daylight yet — there’s still a lot of darkness.
Our Advent wait for Christmas is brief. We only have a few short weeks before our celebration. But in this brief waiting of the Advent Season, we are reminded of how long God’s people have waited in the past. For century upon century they waited for the coming of Christ. They passed on the promise, the hope, from generation to generation. At times they waited in faith. And at times they turned their eyes and their hearts away from God. But His Word remained true. And when the right time came, His promise was fulfilled.
Here we turn to the third image — the third story — for today, found in the Gospel of Matthew, where we read about how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.
Matthew, chapter 21, beginning at verse 8:
8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:8-9 ESV)
Here, it seems, we see God’s promise fulfilled. Christ arrived to shouts of “Hosanna! Save us, O Lord!” He is received with joy by His people as their promised King. Could it be that this is what Isaiah saw? The mountain of the Lord being established? The people coming to Him to learn and live in the way of light and peace? It seems great, but what happens next?
That same week when Jesus Our humble King, come into His Holy city on a donkey, and was welcomed into Jerusalem … on that very same week, he was also betrayed by one of His disciples, handed over to the Jews, and sentenced by the Romans to death on the cross. The light of Christ was shining, but there still was, and still is, so much darkness.
But the light shines in the darkness. And the darkness has not overcome it. Rather, it is the light of Christ which overcomes all darkness.
For in his death, which he died for you, Christ bore the penalty for your sins and for mine. His humble entrance into this world, and into His holy city, and His humble submission to the will of the father and to the wages of sin, this is our salvation, this is our forgiveness, this is our peace. So that there is now no condemnation for those who are united with Christ.
But instead…we who are united with Him in His death are also united with Him in His resurrection. You see, our Lord Jesus was not defeated by the darkness of sin. He submitted to it, yes; but not out of weakness. No, he submitted with power. He stormed the very gates of hell, with all the power to defeat it. And defeat it, He did. On the third day, His light broke the darkness of death and shone with a light that can never be darkened. And in this way our humble king, reclaimed us as His own people, children of God.
For in his resurrection from the dead, Christ our Lord defeated sin, death and the devil for us…for you. And when He had completed His work, Christ ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father, having gone there to prepare a place for us, to intercede for us, to open for us the way of everlasting life. And so it is that we have this promise…the promise that where He is we also will be; the promise that He is coming again to bring His perfect kingdom, which will have no end.
And so today, as we begin this season of Advent, we hold onto that promise. And, just as the people of God waited in the past, we wait too. We wait these few weeks for Christmas. And we wait as long as it takes, in faith, until He comes again. And while we wait we confess our sins, and we hear His Word of absolution for us; for He came to free us from the power of sin, death and the devil. To forgive us and to give us the hope of life everlasting. We wait and we trust that although there remains so much darkness in the world, yet there is also hope. For we have the pledge of Christ who has made His covenant with us in waters of Baptism. And who sustains us in this one true faith by feeding us His true body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar. We wait and we hope and we trust in Him who declares that the night is far gone; and the daylight is coming.
And so, filled with faith and hope, we gather, faithfully, in this holy house, to receive His gifts and to proclaim this good news of great joy for all people…the good news of the light shining in the darkness, the good news of our Savior and King, Jesus Christ, who came in humility to reclaim us as His own and make us the people of God; and who is coming in glory to bring us forever into the glorious Light of Paradise. Amen.
And now the Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds until the Day of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.