He Comes to Us at AdventReligious News Article for the Frankenmuth NewsNovember 28, 2007By Pastor Mark Loest

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation… Zechariah 9:9 (ESV)

For a while now I’ve listening to people saying how they’ve already completed their Christmas shopping. Good for them!Perhaps they were inspired by the Christmas music that’s been on the radio since Halloween, or the Christmas decorations that have been up for weeks—long before Thanksgiving. Perhaps.But maybe they were motivated by previous bad memories of last minute shopping, wintry weather, and crowded malls and stores. While such memories might not seem like much inspiration, they are without a doubt motivation.Regardless, with “Black Friday” already behind, the shopping and busy time of Christmas preparation has begun.The Church also has its own time of preparation for Christmas. It is called the season of Advent. The word Advent is a Latin word meaning “He comes,” and refers to Christ’s coming.Anticipating Christ’s coming is the main theme of Advent—His first coming as prophesied in the Old Testament of the Bible and as a baby in Bethlehem at Christmas, His coming to us presently through the Means of grace of Word and sacrament, and His final coming someday in judgment on the Last Day. All of these require reflection and preparation—that the heart of the believer maybe made ready by repentance to receive Him.Like Christmas, Advent has its own characters, too—many who are not found at the nativity scene on Christmas Eve. These include prophets like Jeremiah (Chapter 23), Isaiah (Chapter 7 & 9), and Micah (Chapter 5), and others such as Zachariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1), and John the Baptizer (Mark 1).Clearly the people, message and theme of Advent are very different from those usually promoted at this time of the year. For one thing, the theme of receiving the Lord takes place in the reality of our inability to receive Him without His first making us ready by coming to us in His Word and bringing about true repentance and faith. Only after He has come to us are we enabled by the Holy Spirit to joyful receive Him.Advent preparation is about God preparing us for His appearing among us. “Prepare the way of the Lord,” is cry of the Baptizer (Matthew 3:3). It is an exhortation to preach the Word in order to level and fill-in hearts that they may be made ready.Without Advent, Christmas becomes just another yearly repeated attempt at the vanity of trying to find happiness and fulfillment through our own efforts (which in December is focused on decorations, gifts, memories and the like). With Advent, Christmas certainly does lose its commercial flair—and much of its hectic activity and glitz—but these are replaced by God preparing us for when He will finally receive us as His own.

Prayer: O Lord, how shall I meet Thee, How welcome Thee aright?

Thy people long to greet Thee, My Hope, my heart’s Delight!

O kindle, Lord, most holy, Thy lamp within my breast

To do in spirit lowly All that may please Thee best.—Paul Gerhardt