We all probably know by now that the word advent means “an arrival” or “an appearance,” or something along those lines. So, we can speak about the advent of the automobile or the advent of AI technology. But in the Church when we speak of advent, we are usually referring to the coming or the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, sometimes we look backwards and recall and celebrate His original advent in flesh and blood as the child born of Mary in the little town of Bethlehem. This is, in fact, the focus of our Christmas celebration. But Advent also turns us toward the future as well. For our Lord, having completed His work through cross and empty tomb, returned to the right hand of the Father with the promise that He would come again. He would return at the end of the age. This is the second great advent of the Son of God. Therefore, sometimes during the season of Advent we are not sure which way to look, what it is we are to focus on. But one thing which becomes clear is how the advent of the Son of God is worthy of our devotion.

After all, the advent of Jesus Christ is not just the coming of a great teacher or an inspirational leader. The arrival of the Son of God is the coming of salvation itself. Remember when the people of Palm Sunday cried out, “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” They also cried out, “Save us.” They shouted out as those who could not save themselves, as people who were trapped in their sin. This is akin to the large crowds who went to see John the Baptist, as they came confessing their sins. They were acknowledging they had lived in rebellion against God, were bound to disobedience, and longed for a way out, for hope in something beyond themselves. This is us, a people drowning in sin and corruption. And we live amidst the two great advents, between the One who came to save and will come again in glory. We have received His Word and believed the Good News he proclaimed, so we live this sort of disjointed existence between the advents of our Lord.

That is why the words of Saint Paul to the church in Thessaloniki ought to greet your ears with a special sort of comfort and joy. He says to those saints, and so he says to you, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” It is a call to remain joyful, to give thanks, to enjoy and drink deep of the blessings of our Lord, in the midst of cries to, “Save us!” In those times of deep reflection upon your own sin, today is a reminder to give thanks, to rejoice, to hold fast to the good things which are already given to you in Christ your Lord. The theme of joy is the theme of the Third Sunday of Advent. After all, it is the Sunday when we light the pink candle and take a bit of a reprieve from the confession and desperate longing for deliverance and remember how we are already heirs of the promises of our Lord.

I love that call by the Apostle Paul to, “Hold fast what is good.” One of the reasons I like it is that the phrase, “Hold Fast,” is one I have seen more than once tattooed on the knuckles of a rough and unsavory looking fellow. When I was a pastor down in Georgia, our town was a military town, a navy town, and at times when riding the motorcycle to the local water hole you would run into a fellow with this peculiar tattoo. The history of this tattoo seems to have gone back to the earliest days of seafaring. Between storms, rough seas, and piracy the phrase was a popular saying among the sailors as a symbol of their resilience and perseverance. Eventually, it became a popular tattoo across the knuckles as they stood firm in the rigging without cowering or backing down to whatever the opposition threw at them.

In this text laced with joy and thanksgiving Paul calls for the Church, for you, to hold fast what is good. The context is the testing of everything, the sifting of prophecy, teaching, and practice with the Word of God. Test it and hold fast to the good stuff. Hold fast to that which is true, faithful, and good. Of course, this call is especially good news for us, for those who find themselves between the two great advents of our Lord. We look back and are reminded of what happened. You are reminded of the Savior who came all those years ago, who lived, suffered, and died for you, for your sins, for your salvation. Yet, you look forward to the fulfillment of all His promises, to the second coming of our Lord. Then, He will bring to fulfillment all He has promised. He will usher in the new Heaven and the new Earth, the completion of the work of Calvary’s cross. And what do we do in the meantime? We test everything and hold fast what is good.

On the one hand, this charge at the very least gives us something to fill our days with as we await the second Advent. What do we do? We test everything. We take the never-ending streams of truth claims from all corners of the world and we put them to the test. We compare them to the Word of God. We do not just take at face value whatever the popular assertions of truth might be. We examine, investigate, push back, and challenge the new, even as we are willing to correct the old. In this way our lives are a constant task of refining and refocusing, so we do not fall victim to falsehood, that we are not suckered into errant and wayward teachings which pull us away from our ancient faith and the truth it proclaims.

On the other hand, this call to hold fast to good will cause us to examine ourselves, our own deeds. For the testing is not just about those things outside of ourselves, but also for the things which have crept into our own thoughts and desires. It is especially for you, those who actually go to church week-in and week-out. You have an incredible ability to develop for yourselves a very holy, sound, and complex system of perceptions of faithfulness that may not always line up with the Word of God. This testing is even more difficult, for it will tear at your heart and at your sense of importance. Just think it through. If you were to get the tattoo across your knuckles, what is it you would hold fast to? Would you hold fast to your devotion, to your attendance at church, to your personal prayer life, to your dedication to serve? Do you hold fast to your knowledge, to your understanding of the intricacies of the revelation of God? Do you hold fast to your good intentions? Now, I know you know such things are fraught with problems, that holding fast to the things of your own doing will always leave you empty handed, for they will always leave you with failure and broken dreams. So, the question remains when all else fails, when you have nothing grand to claim as your own, what is it you will hold fast to?

Here the unsung hero, Advent, begins to creep into our conversation, for it is not just looking backward to Jesus’ first advent or looking forward to His second great advent. No, the cause for our joy, the reason for our thanksgiving is because He continues to advent with us here and now. Christ, who came as the child born of Mary and the Christ who promises to come in glory and power, comes even now in His Word and Sacraments. He comes in the washing of regeneration as you are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He arrives there to declare how you are His, you are clothed in His righteous gifts, and redeemed from sin and corruption. Then He comes again in the confession and absolution which echoes in your ears. There the One who claimed you in baptism declares that truth yet again, you are His brother and sister. You are an heir of eternal life. And if that was not enough, He advents with you yet again in the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. There He is present to feed you Himself and to give to you all He has and all He has done for you.

Our Lord has not left us between His two great advents without His presence, without His gifts, without His ongoing promises for you. He comes to you even now. He comes to you to forgive and love and comfort you. Truly this is the good to which we are to hold fast. This is the blessing we are to cling to, for these gifts anchor us in the storm. They give guidance and meaning to our days. When all else fails, these will stand tall. When we are withered and fade away, these blessings will still sound forth. So, my friends, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”