Those who trust in the Lord are not anxious when drought comes because they have the roots that run deep from the tree into which they have been transplanted.
For those who have wandered away from the community of the faithful, coming back can be filled with both fear and joy, both shame and redemption. Our text for today is no exception.
It was the Lord’s delight to crush the Messiah Jesus for the sinners of the world. Reminding us how we would have nothing without the Suffering Servant.
The Christ brings a baptism in order to gather all those sinners who are scattered across time and geography to be God’s people united in redemption and salvation.
Solomon prays for grace, and he gets it, and it is not because he asked for it. It is because that is the kind of God he has, a gracious God, full of steadfast love and faithfulness even when we are not.
In the season of Advent, we speak of a present-day hope that we have in God through the work of the Holy Spirit to create and sustain faith in us through the Word and Sacraments.