In the proper time

This is a machine assisted translation for use by translator in Messiaskirken 27. november 2022

Hymns

Opening hymn: Folkefrelsar til oss kom (DELK 001) - Savior of the Nations, Come (LSB 332)

After gloria:

En krybbe var vuggen (DELK 043) - Away in a manger (LSB 365)

Rydd vei for Herrens komme (DELK 016) - Prepare the Royal Highway (LSB 343)

Before sermon: Psalmody. Psalm 24:1-10.

Before Lord’s Supper: Å kom, å kom, Immanuel (DELK 002) O Come, o Come, Emmanuel (LSB 357)

Under nattverdsutdelingen:

Deg Herre Jesus vil vi bekjenne (DELK 325) - Not available in English

Oh, how great is your compassion (LSB 559b - Different tune)

In the shattered bliss of eden (LSB 572)

Blomstre som en Rosengård (DELK 011) - Not available in English

Slutningssalme: Gjør døren høy gjør porten vid (DELK 004) This hymn is translated from the same text as Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates (LSB 340/341). However the meter and tune is different.

Opening words

The peace of God.

‌Welcome to the service, to those of you who have gathered here in the church and also to those of you who are with us on streaming.

Where does the time go?. It has not been long since the last leaves fell from the trees here in eastern Norway, and today the countdown to Christmas begins.

The Christian church has celebrated Christmas ever since the 4th century, and soon after that it started setting aside a few weeks before Christmas for preparations. The church soon landed on what we know today as the four Sundays of Advent. And on these Sundays, the focus is on what in Latin is called adventus Domini, which means the coming of the Lord, or even the return of the Lord, as I learned this week from the only Latin student I know.

‌An extra welcome to those of you who are new here today. I hope you feel welcome in the service, and are well received afterwards as well. A short word regarding communion: Before you commune with us, we ask that you have a talk with the pastor. If you have not done so yet, I ask that you sit it out this time. You may howver come forward with your hands crossed like this, and we'll say a prayer for you instead.

‌We begin the gathering with our opening prayer.

Readings

The first reading comes from the Psalms

Psalm 24:1–10 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. 3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah 7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! 9 Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah

It is furthermore written in St. Paul’s epistle to the Romans, chapter 13

Romans 13:11–14 ESV

11 Besides this 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. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

This is the word of the Lord

M: Thanks and praises. LORD, You have the words of eternal life, to whom else shall we go?

The Gospel

P: The Holy Gospel is written in the Gospel of Mark

Matthew 21:1–11 ESV

1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 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!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

P: Holy God, sanctify us in the truth, your word is truth. Amen.

Prayer

Let us still pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, Through your Son, you have revealed to us that heaven and earth will pass away, and that one day we will rise from the dead and stand before you in judgment, by your Holy Spirit, keep us steadfast in your word and in the true faith, so that we do not burden our hearts with gluttony and drinking and the sorrows of this life, but keep watch and pray, and joyfully look to the day when your Son returns in glory and we will receive eternal salvation, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one true God from eternity to eternity.

Introduction

Are you surprised to hear the text that we have read today, or have you perhaps encountered the surprise many times now that it no longer has the same effect? Isn't this the text for Palm Sunday?

It should be anyway, because this is what we celebrate on Palm Sunday: Jesus who came riding a donkey into Jerusalem.

‌The Lord Jesus who came - or Adventus Domini.

‌Advent has its own theme: the coming of our Lord Jesus! This continues during the Christmas season: Jesus who came to us and became human. But in the Advent season, we explore this theme even more closely. Jesus who will come again. Jesus who comes to each one of us in word and sacrament, and whom we receive in faith. Today we have heard about Jesus who came to Jerusalem and was received as a king.

I: Jesus came in the right time 

The first candle in the Advent wreath is in some traditions called the Candle of Prophecy. It reminds us of the many prophecies that must be fulfilled. The coming of Jesus was announced long in advance by the Lord's prophets. Not only that he was coming, but many more details as well.

Today we heard these words read:

Matthew 21:4–5 ESV

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”

It came to pass, so that it would be fulfilled, which had been prophesied before.

‌God is the one who works according to his own time and according to his own plans. He is in many ways like a skilled general. From the very beginning, God had a plan. Even in the story of the Fall we can perceive hints about this plan. For the woman's seed would come and crush the serpent's head.

‌What Adam and Evan probably didn't expect was how much time God would take. Not only has he laid out a plan, but his plan has many details. God chose the people of Israel, because from this people the savior would be born. Over a long period of time he sent his prophets to speak to his people. The prophets clearly spoke to their own time, about the problems that arose then and there. But, they also clearly spoke of what was to come. What God had always planned for.

That is why the prophet Zechariah wrote, more than 500 years before Christ:

Zechariah 9:9 ESV

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Like a good general, God moved his forces so that they stood in the best positions. Before the New Testament was written, many things were arranged. As a result of the political development in the intertestamental period, the Jews spread over large parts of the world. They built synagogues and excercised faith in their Lord. Every year they made pilgrimages to Jerusalem, in order to be in the Holy city for Passover and perhaps even Pentecost. The Pax Romana, the Roman peace, helped make this practically possible. And because people of all nations were gathered in Jerusalem on Pentecost, it was also possible for the gospel to be preached in all languages, when the sign of Pentecost came to pass.

Of course, I have overshot Holy week a bit, but the point remains: God was patient, so that the time could be right. And it was then, when the time was right, or in the fullness of time as one might say, that he made his move.

God is in control. He has control over the world we live in, and over the time we find ourselves in. Therefore, we can trust that he knows what he is doing. He came at the right time. He will come again in due time.

II: Jesus comes to us in Divine Service

But then the text also has another quote from the Old Testament, this time from the book of Psalms.

Psalm 118:25–26 ESV

25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.

This is a text that we use in our liturgy. We sing it every Sunday, to acknowledge that Jesus has come to us, and is present in his communion. We are singing:

‌Holy, holy, holy! Holy is the Lord of sabaoth. All the earth is full of his glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

‌And if you now heard the melody somewhere in the back of your head, or at least now that I commented on it, then you also may have discovered that you know this text by heart. That is one of the strengths of using melodies and a fixed liturgy.

Hosanna — Lord Save us.

In the highest — From the heights of Heaven.

Do not stress?

The Lord is lord of time itself. He does things in his time. He makes arrangements and then he acts. He first sent his prophets to make everything clear. To clear the way, and announce in advance the coming of the Lord.

The Lord came to earth and became man: Jesus of Nazareth, the savior of the world. It has happened! It is already history for us. History that means something for us, through his coming to Jerusalem, going to the cross, dying for our sins and rising again on the third day. It changed something: Namely, that we can have confidence that the Lord's salvation is complete. All this has already happened, and we can find rest in it.

‌For many of us, Advent is a time of stress. For the students, it usually means examinations, and if they are really unlucky, they get something to work on during the holiday itself. For those who work in stores, this is the busiest time of the year. The accountants must finish the backlog before the year’s end. There are Christmas parties in all sort of settings. Perhaps you are stressing about buying some last Christmas presents or sending Christmas cards. Or maybe you got stressed now that I mentioned it.

Then the stress may be made even worse by well meaning Advent devotions. They impress upon you that in the midst of all this, you must not be stressed at all, but instead you should set aside even more time for quietness and prayer, to enjoy the time before Christmas, and to go on even more visits. As if you were stressing because you forgot not to?

Perhaps I can instead remind you that at this moment — Here and now! — you are with God's people in Divine Service. Because God is the one who arranges and acts at the right time, both in the history of salvation and in the Divine Service. In ancient times spoke through his holy prophets to prepare the people of Israel for the king who would come from their lineage. He sent a prophet who shouted in the desert: Clear the way for the Lord! (Isaiah 40:3). Yes, for the Lord has come to us, and the Lord will come again.‌

Not only that, but the Lord also arranges for us to hear his words in the service. He has such attention to detail that he has created the seven-day week. Yes, that is what he has done. On the seventh day he blessed it, because on that day he rested from all his works. This is how the Lord has arranged for us to gather today at 11 o'clock for Divine Service. To hear his words and to receive the sacrament.

We can rest in the fact that it is the Lord who makes everything ready in advance, and who comes to us in due time. He came to us and became man. He came to Jerusalem, as a humble king, riding on a donkey. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. And he comes to each one of us in his word and in the sacrament. Let us therefore have trust and faith in him. That's all the preparation we need.

‌In other words: If you need to be stressed before Christmas, then stress boldly. Because God is the same today as He was yesterday, and He is in control. And the most important thing has already been done.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, who was, is and will be, one true God from eternity to eternity.

Kunngjøringer

Many thanks to everyone who has given a gift to the church's work. The gift goes to the church's work, in your local congregation, the church community and to our mission project. We support a Lutheran congregation in Israel and their pastor Vladimir. Also pray for our mission project in Iceland.

‌We have services in the Church of the Messiah at 11am, which are also streamed on YouTube. You can usually log in from about 10:45.

On the calendar

Choir practice after the service today

"We sing Christmas hymns" Thursday 1 December at 5:30 pm. Christmas porridge, gløgg, gingerbread and and evening of singing.

‌The following week, December 8, is Church Thursday.

Church coffee on Zoom.

May God protect you and your way home and have a good week ahead.