Happy New [Church] Year! Today we begin a new church year, and with it an opportunity for us to reflect on Scripture readings, chosen for each Sunday in the Church Year, that help us move our way through the key great events in the life of Christ, culminating in the observance of the week of his final suffering and death, and His great Resurrection victory. It is a beautiful cycle of learning, growth, renewal, rebirth, repentance, forgiveness, remembrance, hope and joy in Christ. Perhaps your prayer and devotional life has been lagging of late.

Advent is an opportunity to observe the traditional fasting associated with this penitential season of preparation to celebration our Lord’s birth, or his “Nativity” as we call it, from the Latin word “natus” or “birth.” The church has observed the various Sundays in the church year for many centuries, and over time there were names associated with the Sundays in the Church Year for Advent, or Lent, drawn from the first line of the Psalm reading appointed for use during the worship service. This first Sunday in the Church Year, is therefore known by the words, in Latin, from the Antiphon of the appointed Introit [short Psalm reading at the start of the Divine Service, after the confession/absolution]. The Introit for the First Sunday in Advent in the historic lectionary is Psalm 25:4-5; 21-22, with the Antiphon being Psalm 25:1-3a. The Antiphon is spoken at the beginning, and end, of the Introit, as a way to recap and summarize the theme of the Psalm reading.

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s Commission on Worship has provided summaries of the appointed Bible readings for the Sundays in the Church year, beginning with the Sunday’s in Advent. The readings appointed for this day in the historic, one-year church year lectionary are:

Introit: Psalm 25:4-5, 22-21, Antiphon: Psalm 25:1-3a

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 24

Old Testament: Jeremiah 25:5-8

Gradual: Ps. 25:3-4

Epistle: Romans 13:(8–10) 11–14

The Verse: Psalm 85:7

Gospel: Matthew 21:1–9.

By the way, here is a chart, in Microsoft Word format, for the “propers” for the entire One Year Lectionary. One-year Summary (Full Chart) Propers are those readings that change throughout the Church Year, as distinct from the “ordinaries” that do not change. A nice way of remembering the difference is that ordinarily some readings never change, but it is proper to change other readings. [Please correct me, anyone, if I've misspoken on these matters of liturgical detail].

Here is the summary of the appointed readings for this Sunday, from The LCMS Commission on Worship

The Lord Jesus Comes in Humility to Redeem Us
The new Church Year begins by focusing on the humble coming of our Lord. “Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey” (Matt. 21:5). Even as He was born in a lowly manger, so Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a beast of burden. For He bears the sin of the world. He is the Son of David riding to His enthronement on the cross, where He shows Himself to be “The LORD is our Righteousness” (Jer. 23:5–6). Our Lord still comes in great humility to deliver His righteousness to us in the Word and Sacraments. Before receiving Christ’s body and blood, we also sing, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matt. 21:9) And as we receive the Sacrament, we set our hearts on His return in glory, for “our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed” (Rom. 13:11). The readings for the First Sunday in Advent, according to the Year C readings from the three year lectionary are: Jeremiah 33:14–16; 1 Thessalonians 3:9–13; Luke 19:28–40 or Luke 21:25–36

The following Bach Cantatas reflect these readings: BWV 61, 62 and 36. Here are the commentary and notes provided by Dr. Martin Luther in his Church Postil for this Sunday’s Gospel. Here is an excerpt:

If you believe in Christ and in His advent, it is the highest praise and thanks to God to be holy. if you recognize, love, and magnify His grace and work in you, and cast aside and condemn self and the works of self, then you are a Christian.

Faith is of the nature that it does not judge nor reason by what it sees and feels but by what it hears. It depends upon the Word alone and not on vision or sight…. He who believes in Christ must find riches in poverty, honor in dishonor, joy in sorrow, life in death, and hold fast to them in that faith which clings to the Word and expects such things.

There is no other beginning that that your king comes to you and begins to work in you. It is done in this way: the Gospel must be the first, this must be preached and heard. In it you hear and learn how all your works count for nothing before God and that everything is sinful that you work and do. Your King must be first in you and rule you…. But when you hear and accept this it is not your power, but God’s grace, that renders the Gospel fruitful in you, so that you believe that you and your works are nothing.

Thy king cometh to thee pious or just, i.e., He comes to make you godly through Himself and His grace; He knows well that you are not godly. Your piety should consist not in your deeds, but in His grace and gift, so that you are just and godly through Him.

Therefore the church is a mouth-house, not a pen-house, for since Christ’s advent that Gospel is preached orally which before was hidden in written books. It is the way of the Gospel and of the New Testament that it is to be preached and discussed orally with a living voice. Christ Himself wrote nothing, nor did he give command to write, but to preach orally. Thus the apostles were not sent out until Christ came to His mouth-house, that is, until the time had come to preach orally and to bring the Gospel from dead writing and pen-work to the living voice and mouth. From this time the Church is rightly called Bethphage, since she has and hears the living voice of the Gospel.

If you are using the Treasury of Daily Prayer, Pastor Weedon provides the following helpful reminder:

The “propers” for Advent are mostly found on page O-62 in the center of the book. Mostly, because when the time comes for the Great O Antiphons, they are printed with the daily propers.

Behold, the Lord comes to save us.
O come, let us worship Him!

Behold, the Lord shall come and all His saints with Him;
And in that day the light shall be great. Alleluia!

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch.
This is the name by which He will be called: the Lord Is Our Righteousness.

In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely.
This is the name by which He will be called: the Lord Is Our Righteousness.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
This is the name by which He will be called: the Lord Is Our Righteousness.