Open for the King of glory!

In our afternoon Bible study on November 24, we explained that we had concluded another year according the calendar of the church. The next Sunday we would start another cycle with the first Sunday of Advent, a season of preparation for the Christmas celebration. The church calendar, a useful teaching tool, covers during its first half, all the significant events in our Lord`s earthly life and ministry, from His birth to the Ascension. The second half takes us from Pentecost to the current moment, as the church carries out its mission to gather and care for the lost sheep until the Lord returns in glory. It is part of the great countdown that helps us remain alert until that day.

On Sunday, December 1, Karla Frias, one of our youth, lit the first candle of our Advent wreath during the opening hymn, “Oh come, Oh come, Emmanuel”. We sang the first two stanzas in the new Spanish hymnal. Unlike earlier hymnals,

Himnario Luterano contains all seven of the original stanzas, so we can sing two for each of the four Sundays of Advent (the first and last stanzas for the fourth Sunday).

“Oh come, Oh come, Emmanuel” is based on the seven “O Antiphons”, a series of prayers based on Bible passages that are, according to tradition, recited or chanted before the Magnificat in Vespers services from December 17 to 23. Each O Antiphon highlights a title for the Messiah. This is the first:

O Wisdom, who issued forth from the lips of the Most High, encompassing all things from one end to the other, and ordering all things with firmness and gentleness: Come and show us the path of salvation. (Isaiah 11:2-3; 28:29; 1 Corinthians 1:24-30; Colossians 2:1-3)

According to the Old Testament writers, wisdom in its absolute sense is an attribute of God. Isaiah identifies “the Spirit of the Lord” as “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord”, and that this Spirit will rest on the Messiah. St. Paul in 1 Corinthians brings out the foolishness of this world's wisdom when compared with the wisdom of God, embodied in Jesus and especially in His death on the cross. In Colossians, the apostle writes that there is no counsel of God for the salvation of the world which does not find its fulfillment in Christ.

In the Gospel reading for the first Sunday in Advent (Matthew 21:1-9), the multitude gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover recognized the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 62:11 and so they shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

They recognized the man seated on the donkey as the promised Messiah, who our Old Testament lesson (Jeremiah 23:5-8) says will be named “Jehovah, our righteousness”. Likewise, in the Psalm of the day, we repeated the liturgical dialogue of the faithful who wished to enter the Temple of Jerusalem. “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in” (Psalm 24:7). Then the gatekeepers of the Temple would ask, “Who is this King of glory?” and the people would respond, “Jehovah, strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in battle!” (Psalm 24:8). The people would enter the gates of the Lord`s house, not by their own righteousness, but by the righteous of God`s Anointed One. The name given the Messiah is the proper name of the God of Israel.

So the Messiah is true God, but some wanted His human name. To which others replied, “Jesus the prophet of Nazareth in Galilee.” These texts along with those that identify Jesus as the divine Wisdom are good for this season when, right on schedule, the Jehovah`s Witnesses are going door to door to deny that the Son is of the same substance as the Father.

"The Lord has kept me alive..."

Two years ago at this time I was hospitalized for what I can best describe (without going into excruciating detail) a stroke caused by kidney infection among other factors. Since then I have paid more attention to diet and exercise, and I seem to be in excellent condition for a 66-year-old man. I can say with Caleb, "And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive..." (Joshua 14:10).

We were able to weather the medical emergency financially thanks to health insurance provided by Global Lutheran Outreach (GLO). But now we face a different challenge. Donations to Epiphany Lutheran Mission have declined substantially over the past year and we will not be able to afford the same level of health coverage for the upcoming year. But that is not the only consequence of the drop in donations. We have plans for building back preschool program and more. But without additional support, we can only struggle to maintain the ministry that we have now. We are not in personal crisis, but Venezuela remains in national crisis. Inflation continues, and, although food, medicine and other necessities are available, many people do not have enough money to sustain a decent standard of living. Power outages still occur daily, interruptions in Internet and telephone service are frequent, and travel is laden with unnecessary risks. We are grateful to God and all of our donors for being able to serve our community and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ for 21 years. If you can renew your partnership with us, or convince someone else to help, our online donation page may be found at https://globallutheranoutreach.com/support-ernst.html.

Also, feelings of isolation are an occupational hazard for cross-cultural missionaries. Here is an easy way to let us and other GLO missionaries know that we are not forgotten, and make a small donation to Global Lutheran Outreach for each birthday wish (you can set the minimum donation per wish). Please head over to wishwell.ai/GLO to choose the missionaries that you would like to greet on their special day. Once you have made your selections, place your order via secure credit card or ACH payment. Remember also to pray for your missionary on their birthday!