A Humble Servant
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.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Zechariah 9:9–10
It is a sad thing that we will cheer and carry on over a football game…more readily…more exuberantly…
Many are even willing to appear pretty nuts…foolish…
With the face paint…body paint even…costumes…and whatnot….
But not so when it comes to the very THING that these other things are to be emulated from…
Or the very person whom every other one deserving praise is but a shadow and a copy…
We only have snippets of how heaven does things…
What cheering and fan-fare can be only imagined with that many people and all the angles and other creatures…
Giving honor where honor is truly and fully due.
Yet…in my experience…I have found it very odd…and no one has ever given me another explanation…other than what I think is going on…
But why is it that kids are very willing to sing and play an instrument for school and school events, but not in church?
Adults too…
But…as you know though, God only asks that you make a joyful noise…when you pray, praise and give thanks.
This is what the Bible calls our reasonable service. And it is also called a living sacrifice.
And guess what…you are all priests before God when you come in here. A priest offers sacrifice on behalf of others and himself.
Now since the full sacrifice for sin has been made…there is no need for that any longer…
But did you know that in the Old Testament system, those were not the only sacrifices to be given to God?
There are peace offerings and thank offerings.
What do you think your gift here…in the offering plate is? Yes, you are offering part of your reasonable service to God as His priest.
…part of it because we do so also in word and song. Speak and Sing. This is what we do in the liturgy.
There are other ways too, but in the Divine Service, God comes to us and gives us His Gifts…serving us…
And as we are taught to say, we say Thank You, Dear Lord.
So that…in Words…both spoken and sung…this giving…or rather offering thanks.
And then there is praise also. There is rejoicing. There is all of this in our singing and making music.
I know…the spirit is always willing, but the flesh is weak.
That is why kids won’t. That is why adults won’t.
The flesh does not want to give praise or say thanks to God. Of course, the devil and world don’t either.
That is why kids and adults find it easier to do this…to do what we are made to do…the devil and the world don’t mind… in any other venues and events…except… all but… in church.
…and they had rather you sing and cheer until horse Saturday night…so that you have nothing left…energy or voice for Sunday morning…
But why we ought to do this…on at least Sunday Morning…should be obvious…shouldn’t it be?
The Gospel of course!
…Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he…
Your King is not coming to demand. He does not want you TO HAVE TO…He wants glad response…joyous in all its fullness because of what He is bringing…
What does He bring us…and this all our lives?
Your salvation…and all that means…and all that comes with THAT!
This is NO DEMAND…like a tyrant demanding tribute, servitude, and the burden of high taxation…
No…hear… what His prophet wants us to understand Him to be like…
This is who HE IS…as He comes to us: …humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
It is really all about Christmas morning…when He comes to us…as with Him it is Christmas all the time, in fact.
And in truth we HAVE NOTHING to be glad about…we have no real object of praise…
Just as we HAVE NOTHING AT ALL…unless it comes from the Christmas Morning Child…
That has come to give His life for us so that we can have all His bounty…what He won in the spoils of battle against His and our enemies…
Yes, for you He says: 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off…
For us He: shall speak peace to the nations…
Peace finally. This so that we can and will enjoy all that He has to give to us.
Imagine being able to not have to worry about paying taxes, or a thief breaking in…
Imagine a world and a life where there is no war…no famine…no natural disasters…no violence…no want of anything…
Imagine it.
All the pain and sickness…all the anger and depression…all evil and hatred…taken away…
And replaced with joy and peace and love immeasurable…
Yes, Christmas in Spring and Summer…in all and every season…perpetually….
All of this is forever. This is eternal and His rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
He will make sure of it. And this He does just for us.
So…
So…there is nothing else for us to do but respond with cheering and loud rejoicing! To bring thanksgiving and praise before Him…to Him…for Him…
Our Great King…
Yes, and to offer up ourselves as living sacrifices…just as He has and does give Himself…His living body and blood to us…forever.
As imperfect as it may seem to us…as we seem…as we are…He wants this…He loves this…He Himself rejoices in this with us…
…and so…as we are all bashful and embarrassed…shy and self-conscience…afraid of our own voices…
Just wait. On that Last Day we will not be able to contain ourselves…not stop…as all will be in perfect harmony…perfect pitch and tone…
But right now…well…it is just practice…yet still good and right to do…always. So go ahead…lift up your heads…your hearts…and voices. Great is your King, Lord and Brother! Give Him Thanks and Praise! He is here this day! For you!
Amen.
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