“O Savior, rend the heavens wide; Come down, come down with mighty stride; Unlock the gates, the doors break down; Unbar the way to heaven’s crown.” (LSB 355.1)

These words mark the start of the Advent season. They are very appropriate words. Those words cause us to think outside of ourselves. They cause us to think as we should. You see, those words echo the prophet Isaiah whom you hear in our first reading this Sunday. “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence.” And that, my friends, is exactly what has happened.

The Christian Church keeps the Sundays of Advent as she does for a reason. The Church keeps this season because she knows that things are not right with us. Indeed, things are not right among us nor within us. You and I need help. And it is to point our attention in the direction of that help that the Church keeps Advent. You see, for Christmas to be properly understood and appreciated, Advent must always come first.