“Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory.”
“Why Palm Sunday?” This question is often asked by members in the church. Why do we start the season of Advent where we normally begin Holy Week? Aren’t we focusing on the arrival of the baby Jesus at Christmastide?
The word “advent” comes from the Latin verb advenio, meaning “I arrive.” The season of Advent is a time of preparation for Christ’s arrival. But this focus isn’t just seen in Christ’s arrival as a little baby in a manger. We prepare for Christ’s arrival by focusing on the meaning behind his arrivals - the “why?”
Why are we preparing for Christ’s arrival? He has already come down to earth, born of the Virgin Mary. He has already arrived into Jerusalem to fulfill his saving work, a work that Jesus himself has told us is finished. But these are not the only advents for which we prepare.
We are preparing for our Lord’s return! But we do not know the day or the hour. When he comes, he will come not as a lowly baby in a bed of hay, nor as a respected teacher riding on a donkey, mistaken as a political revolutionary. Instead, he will come as he rightly is: the king of glory, the Son of David who rules over his Father’s kingdom.
The mighty king, who has indeed won the battle, will soon return in victory to announce the end of the war. He will put an end to our struggles and sufferings. He will come to take us with him to his eternal kingdom!
But until that day comes, we are left to wait and prepare. It’s not always easy, as the hymn says, for “every heart to prepare him room.” Yet we do just that, carrying out our work, preparing ourselves spiritually, all while keeping watch for our king…because we know who our king is and what he has done for us, we eagerly anticipate his arrival, praying, “Come Lord Jesus!” Our hearts are prepared because the one who is coming has prepared them for us.
And when he does come, we will gladly lift the gates and welcome our king.
Prayer: Lord God, though heaven and earth are yours, the human heart has no room for you. Open wide the gates of our hearts, that your Son may enter and rule there as king. Let his life of clean hands and a pure heart rest on us that we may always live with you; through Christ our Lord. Amen.