Ad Te Levavi, The First Sunday in Advent
Romans 13.11-14 Matthew 21.1-9 Today is the First Sunday in the season of Advent—the penitential season in which we prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming in glory on the Last Day—which means it is also the first Sunday of the Church’s new year. In what may seem like an oddity, we begin this season of penitential preparation and the new year by hearing of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. But it’s not odd at all when we consider all that the Holy Spirit wants to teach us in this event. Jesus and His disciples draw near Jerusalem. They come to the village of Bethphage at the Mount of Olives. There Jesus tells two of His disciples—which two doesn’t matter—to go to the village. There they will find a tethered donkey and a colt. Jesus didn’t sent scouts into the village. Being God in human flesh, He sees all things and knows all things. By telling His disciples what they will find when they enter the village, Jesus wants to teach them—and us—that He truly knows all things. He