1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else just as ours does for you.  May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

       That's right, here it is another Advent season.  I kind of chuckle, because when we spoke of the Advent season in Confirmation class the other day, though the kids didn't really know what Advent was they did know that Advent was the season when the extra candles were found in the church.
       What is Advent?  There are a number of things that can be said.  First, note that Advent is the beginning of the church year.  It marks the first half or the festival half of the church year.  The Festival half of the church year is where we highlight and focus in on the life of Christ.  Run down what happens during this portion of the church year.
       You have Advent, where we begin to prepare for the coming of Jesus.  Then you have Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Jesus or the fact that the Christ has come.  Next there is Epiphany where we focus on the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Savior of God.  Now it's Lent.  Lent is where we highlight the passion of Jesus and his atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Then comes the greatest season Easter.  It's about the resurrection of Jesus, the heart and core of everything we are and teach as believers in Jesus.  No, resurrection, no Savior is the simple truth.  After Easter you then have two minor festivals that serve to highlight the work and victory of Jesus.  You have Ascension Day and you have Pentecost.  Pentecost marks the end of the festival half of the church year and we then begin the non-festival half.  Today, we call all of those non-festival Sundays, "Sundays after Pentecost" and throughout that period the focus is on what our faith in Jesus is about and how it impacts us.
       So back to our original question, "What is Advent?"  We've already noted it was the beginning of the church year and then discussed that Festival half of the year that has the focus of Jesus.  Now we can more specifically say that Advent is the season of preparation.  Preparing our hearts for Jesus' coming.  Preparing to spend the next six months thinking about Jesus and how important his life and work is to our life and work.  If you would Advent is like grade school.  Grade school is where you prepare for High school.  Christmas and Epiphany are the High school seasons.  High school prepares you for college.  Lent and Easter are the college season where our life's work is honed and sharpened.
       Why do I use those terms?  Because there is great correlation there.  If you don't do your grade school work, high school is going to be tough.  And if you don't do you high school work, college is going to be even tougher.  Why is that important?  Because all sorts of studies have been done and it is very clear that a college graduate has a greater potential not only for higher earnings in life but also for greater happiness in life.  I see the same correlation in our spiritual life.  If you don't get the basics of Jesus and build on those basics so that your life is honed and sharpened in the Victorious Jesus of Easter then I believe that your treasure is less and your happiness is less too!  All because Jesus as your foundation is weak.  You won't be operating with the light of Jesus but rather operating in the shadows of the world.  Jesus and his work and life affect and impact our work and life.
       With all those thoughts in mind let's jump into our Advent lesson for today.  Our theme will be: ADVENT PRAYERS.  1st. Clear the way.  2nd. Make our love increase.  3rd. Strengthen our hearts.
       Please note that Paul didn't write these words in 1 Thessalonians as an Advent prayer but rather his words were written as a pastor for his congregation.  It is rather clear that Paul, or if you would, the Holy Spirit, has the good of the congregation in mind.  He is concerned with the people and the souls of those people.  He wants only the best for those children of God.  It is because of the nature of these prayers that this text was chosen as an Advent text.  A pastor praying for the spiritual good of his people.  Please note that there are really three petitions to this simple prayer of Paul.  Let's look at each one.
       Verse 11 is the first part of this prayer.  "Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you."  To me this is perhaps the simplest of the petitions but nonetheless a rather important petition.  This petition sets up the other two and in the scheme of how the Lord has chosen to work in this world it is understandable that the other two could not happen without this one taking place.  What is this petition asking?  That God would cause things to happen so that Paul and his ministry companions could come and carry out their ministries among the people of Thessalonica!
       In other words it is a petition praying that the sheep and shepherd could get together.  If you would, recall that when Paul first ministered in Thessalonica his stay didn't last very long.  Acts 17 records for us that moment.  Paul and Silas arrived in Thessalonica to preach Christ and him crucified.  It seems that they were there only a few weeks when the Jews of the town, out of pure jealousy and hatred for the name of Jesus caused a riot that ended that ministry.  Though short lived that ministry had results.  There was a Christian congregation established, a group whose faith was in Jesus.  As Paul wrote this letter to that group, praising their faith in Jesus he also expresses the desire to get together with them again.  Why?  That he might help to carry out petitions two and three.
       This prayer helps to remind us of that precious truth found in our catechism.  Under the Third Commandment we are reminded that God has given the church "shepherds" or pastors to feed and lead the church in the truth of God's Word.  That's how God has chosen to work.  Think about it.  Jesus chose twelve men to follow and learn from him.  Then Jesus sent those twelve out and they chose other men to go out and lead groups of Christians in the wonders of God's Word.  It's been working that way ever since.  Congregations and shepherds gathering around God's Word to help and strengthen each other in the wonders of that Word.
       But that's exactly what the next petition is about.  It says, "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else just as ours does for you."  This petition speaks of love.  It's speaks of love increasing and overflowing.  I really don't have to point out to you that the love spoken of here is the same love that our God and Lord has poured upon us in Jesus.  You know the passages: "We love because he first loved us."  Or again, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
       We can't talk about love without speaking of Jesus and his love for us.  How he has forgiven and overlooked our sins.  How he has won for us the eternity of heaven because he took our rightful punishment of death and damnation.  Jesus was born to be our Savior, to reveal the grace of God and to carry out the plan of God for our complete salvation.  This love of Jesus and his redemptive work is called the gospel.  Through the Gospel message Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to grant us faith, increase that faith and cause that faith to overflow in our lives.  Overflowing faith is love in action.  That's the end result of the wonder of Jesus in our lives.  We love.  We love each other in Christ.  We love everyone in Christ Jesus.  That's what faith brings.  Love.
       Not just some sort of love from our lips but rather a love that comes from our hearts and is found in our lives.  With our Christian brothers and sisters we practice love.  We care for, watch out for, and help each other where we can.  We correct, rebuke and encourage each other with great patience and careful instruction.  We especially kneel with each other at the manger and the cross.  As we worship together we help each other in the faith and marvel of Jesus.  It's what God's children do.
       But our love doesn't stop with each other.  Our love reaches out to the world too.  We let our light shine.  We boldly and confidently speak of Jesus and his gift of eternal life.  We work to share the message of Jesus with those who don't know it and with those who don't get it.  We are God's children who are active in our world, helping where we can physically but especially helping to share the glorious victory of Jesus that impacts us spiritually.  All of this always in the truth of God's Word for any action of love without Jesus and His Word is no action at all.  No wonder this prayer is for an increase in love, an increase that overflows.
       Then there is our last petition.  It says, "May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones."  This petition is perhaps the most personal of all.  The first petition was that pastor and congregation get together to help and encourage.  The second petition was that our love increase and overflow that we might help and encourage each other and the world.  This third petition is really about our personal faith, about our personal relationship with the Lord.  The prayer here is that our hearts be blameless and holy in the presence of God, especially blameless and holy before the judgment throne of Jesus on the last day.
       This is Paul's way of saying, "I want you to have a strong and proper faith!"  The only way we can be holy and blameless before God is through Jesus.  It is Jesus who forgives our sins and clothes us with his righteousness.  It is Jesus who makes us holy, Jesus who causes us to be blameless before the throne of God.  Not only do we need to know that, we need to believe that, that is, to have the faith that all is done and completed in Jesus.
       What a great time to think of this petition.  Here we are at that very time of year when we are getting ready to focus in on and highlight the complete history of Jesus.  That's what the festival half of the church year is about.  It's hearing from beginning to end the point of Jesus.
       We are getting ready for Christmas, the birth of Jesus.  At Christmas we think of Jesus the baby lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes, heralded by the angels and visited by the shepherds.  But at Christmas we also think of God's gift of a Savior.  A baby born to live the perfect life for us.  A baby born to die on the cross as the perfect sacrifice.  Yes, Jesus the Savior is born.  Jesus who cleanses and purifies us from all sin.  Jesus who has won for us the status of holy and blameless before God.  And all that is demanded of us is that we put our confidence and hope in this wonder of Jesus and his work.  This petition is really about our personal faith.  It's about that sureness that comes through the hope and message of Jesus.
       I think you can understand why these verses are found as an Advent reading.  Great prayers, good prayers, Advent prayers to lead us to hear of, think on and practice the faith found in Jesus.  Amen.