At Just the Right Time

First Sunday of Advent

December 3, 2017

Matthew 21:4–5

At Just the Right Time

In the name of the Father

and of the + Son

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

— MATTHEW 21:1–5 —

Jesus wasn't making His list and checking it twice. That is, He wasn't accomplishing His plan of salvation by ticking off boxes on checklist written on a scroll tucked up His sleeve.

It wasn't as though Jesus woke up on Palm Sunday, five days before He was crucified, and thought to Himself, “Okay, what prophecies do I need to fulfill today? Oh, right, I have to ride on a donkey today.”

The eternal Son of God who created not the idea of time, but Time itself, chose to live in time and in our history. But while He chose to limit His use of His divine power for a time, it wasn't ever controlling Him.

On the other hand, Time certainly pushes us around. And no other time than now. We have obligations to fulfill. Lists to make. Items to order. Tickets to buy. Boxes to wrap. Lights to hang. Trees to chop (or assemble).

And then the world has the audacity to say that if you don't get it all done in time, you haven't had Christmas.

Christ came to earth to tell you that everything's going to be okay. He was born so that everything would be okay. He rode into Jerusalem so that everything would be okay.

The crowds were exactly right to shout hosanna to Jesus because it meant that everything was going to be okay. Hosanna means save us and our dear Lord did just that. His royal death on a lowly cross was the sacrifice for all our sin.

We use our time badly, sinfully even, but everything's still going to be okay because Jesus is on the cross for us. That's why He came. He promised to die and He did for us.

And so shortly before receiving His true body and blood for our salvation, we joyfully sing the words that proclaim His arrival, His advent:

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

The deeds prophesied about Jesus weren't dictating what He would be doing on each day of His life on earth. Instead, it is better to think of it like this: Jesus simply did what He does and the prophets inspired by God simply wrote down what was already as good as done at just the right time:

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

— ROMANS 5:6–8 —

Amen.