The Present Advent

I have a great photo taken by one of our members, Gayle, when she was visiting the oldest member of our Beautiful Savior family, Martha, who turned 102 last May. She’s with an Elvis impersonator – Elvis, who is often referred to as “The King.” On Monday, November 28, Martha closed her eyes for the final time here on this earth and opened them to behold the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords as Jesus welcomed her to the Father’s House and the room prepared for her.

One might say that at 102 Martha led a full life. Indeed, she did, including growing up with her brother going in and out of foster homes. She would often tell me how blessed she was to have one of those families who happened to attend St. Paul’s Lutheran in West Allis make sure they knew about Jesus. And with that joy of walking with Him, she continued to go through life, coming to understand the truth of Psalm 23 – she being a lamb under the care of the Good Shepherd who protected His sheep even when she would go through the darkest of valleys. The Good Shepherd knew the path and how to protect His precious lamb to get her just where He wanted her to be.

Ultimately, that destination for all of us who follow Jesus is the Father’s House. And in this season of Advent, while we think much about Christmas when Jesus first came to this earth to be our Savior, we also think about His second coming as Judge of the living and the dead. Are you prepared? Fortunately for us, we can think of another advent of Jesus – the present Advent as He comes to us now through the Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. There we receive the forgiveness of our sins and strength for the day, as well as instruction as to how to live in the Kingdom now as we look forward to its perfection in heaven.

This weekend’s message will focus on the angel Gabriel coming to Mary with the news that she would be the mother of our Lord. What a marvelous response from Mary (which also is our verse for the week): “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38) This is the attitude of all who wish to be in the Kingdom and who celebrate our Lord coming to us now through Word and Sacrament as we await heaven and seeing our King face to face.