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The First Sunday of Advent

Ad Te Levavi

Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

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An Overview

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Artwork: Palmesel. German, 15th century.  On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 20. The German word Palmesel (palm donkey) refers to the statue of Jesus on a donkey, mounted on a wheeled platform, which was part of Palm Sunday processions in many German-speaking regions until the Reformation. These processions, which reenacted Christ’s entry into Jerusalem mounted on a donkey, were lively pageants in which hymns were sung, palms strewn, and clothes spread on the ground before the Palmesel. The figure of Jesus retains, in contrast, an air of quiet majesty. The donkey’s hooves and the fingers on Christ’s proper right hand are restored; the platform and wheels are modern.

 

The Old Testament

Jeremiah 23:5-8

  • vv. 5 -6 - The responsory during Advent for Vespers. A reminder that Christ is the righteous branch of David who executes Justice, saving both Judah and Israel.

  • vv. 7-8: A new saying will emerge. No longer will the defining aspect of Israel's salvation be the Exodus, but now it will be a return to the promised land. This deals immediately with the return from exile, and anagogically to the end of time when all the faithful will come into the final promised land.​

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Translation Notes

  • The Septuagint renders verse 5 "...when I will raise up for David a righteous ανατολην." This curious word means something like "dawn" or "east" or "sunrise."

The Epistle

Romans 13:8-14

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Translation Notes

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The Holy Gospel

Matthew 21:1-9

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Translation Notes

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Poetry Used in the Liturgy of Ad Te Levavi

  • Psalm 24- ___

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  • Savior of the Nations, Come​

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Artwork: Jacob Wrestling the Angel, Pietro Monaco. Italian, 18th Century. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Further Reading & Listening

 

 

Artwork: Marble relief fragment with the head of Medea1st–2nd century. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This marble sculpture very well could have been seen by the recipients of Paul's letter to the Thessalonians. This image is a copy of a relief from 400 years before Christ was born. Medea was a witch who tricked the daughters of King Pelias into boiling their father in hopes of rejuvenating him. The full marble relief, from which comes this fragment, depicts Medea and the girls about to commit the terrible act. You can read more about the myth of Medea here. If you'd like more information on the historical background of Thessaly, you can purchase The Lutheran Bible Companion Volume 2.

St. John's Lutheran Church
 

1-307-548-7127

stjohnslovell@gmail.com

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On the Corner of 5th and Montana

Lovell, Wyoming 82431

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