https://app.dropwave.io/episode/57e88cc7-bdd4-40e4-b166-19debf2f1872/populus-zion-advent-2-wednesday-ad-2025.mp3

The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes Leaping upon the mountains, Skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he stands behind our wall; He is looking through the windows, Gazing through the lattice. My beloved spoke, and said to me: “Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away. For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, And the vines with the tender grapes Give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away! “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the secret places of the cliff, Let me see your face, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your face is lovely.”

Song of Songs 2:8-14

++ JESU JUVA ++

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Jesus is the Bridegroom. The Church is His Bride. He is coming to take her away, to bring her into the nuptial hall, to bring her home with Him. The Church waits for Him. It is the Lord’s Advent. The Church sees the coming of her Beloved.

Behold, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. The Beloved Lord comes with youthful strength and even a kind of playful vitality. It’s like when He would come to His disciples after His resurrection — appearing and disappearing; making Himself known to them; pretending like He doesn’t see them. He comes not timidly or hesitantly but eagerly — with authority, vigor, and joy.

We cannot go to Him, but He, by His mercy, will come to us. Mountains and hills are no obstacle to Him. Nor are sin, death, shame, pain, or guilt. He overcomes them all to reach His Bride. He tramples death and Satan under His feet. He pursues His Church; seeks her; calls to her. The mountains of sin and hills of despair cannot stop Him. Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him (Isaiah 40:10).

Behold, he stands behind our wall; He is looking through the windows, Gazing through the lattice (Song of Songs 2:9). Even before He comes to make His presence fully known, He is watching His Church. She glimpses Him through the windows and the latticework.

Yet He is not outside the fence or gazing in through the windows from outside. Historically, a lattice was part of church architecture. It was a kind of screen between the area with the altar, called the chancel, and the nave, where the people were. There was a screen between between pastor and people. The people could hear the priest at work. They could catch glimpses of him making preparation for their coming to the altar.

But now we don’t have a screen like that. Still, Christ comes to the chancel. Still, He is hidden from our sight. Yet Christ is here. He is near. He looks upon His church with affection. For us — and for now — His presence is veiled. His presence is hidden under, we might say, the ‘lattice’ of His appointed means. So when the Lord’s Word is preached, we hear Him, but we don’t yet see Him. As the pastor stands in the chancel and speaks our Lord’s words, the Bridegroom looks through the lattice at His Bride.

The Bride catches glimpses of her Beloved. He calls to her. He assures her of His love. He feeds her and strengthens her for the life when she can’t see Him fully. But one day, He will not appear to His church behind a screen or through a window. He will not even be known to us under the forms of bread and wine. Then, we shall know Him face to face. We shall know Him fully, even as we are now already fully known by Him.

Jesus doesn’t only come to His Bride. He speaks. My beloved spoke, and said to me: “Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away (Song of Songs 2:10). One day, the lattice will be removed. The veil will be torn away. The Bridegroom will stand before His Bride with unveiled face and shining with the radiance of all of His glory. This chancel — this place where our Bridegroom comes to us — will give way to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. Then nothing will be hidden anymore.

He calls His Bride away. For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, And the vines with the tender grapes Give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away! (Song of Songs 2:11-13).

Do you remember the fig tree from Sunday? When it comes out in leaf, you know that summer is near. So Jesus speaks to His Beloved: summer has come! Winter is past. The rainy season is over. Flowers spring up from the earth. Figs and grapes are ready for harvest! Can you see it? Can you smell the fragrance of spring and summer? Can you take in the sweet smell of incense? Heaven has come down to earth. All the winter of our sins, long and dark, is flying! (LSB 487). Spring is here! Nature flourishes under God’s blessing. For it is, even in the midst of earthly winter, with its snow and ice, wind and rain, that it is springtime in the Church. We live in the ever-new life of the forgiveness of our sins. In Christ, we live in eternal springtime.

But even more than the cold weather outside, there is a coldness that seems to seep its way into our hearts. That’s why Jesus comes to call you out of coldness. Come into the warmth of His Light. A new time of grace has dawned. That’s why He calls you to come away. Away from sin’s darkness. Away from the world’s distractions. Come into the refreshment of His mercy.

Hearing her Beloved’s invitation, the Church now speaks in response. “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the secret places of the cliff, Let me see your face, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your face is lovely.” (Song of Songs 2:14). Christ comes to His Bride and declares her righteous and holy. And the Church responds to His gracious call.

So, dear saints, hear your Lord’s gracious call. When anxiety, shame, or guilt tempt you to hide, Christ calls you out. Do not linger in the shadows of the world. Come to Him by His appointed means of Word and Sacrament. Receive His voice, His mercy. Eagerly catch glimpses of Him even now. And look forward to the day when you will behold Him face to face.

In the holy Name of Jesus.

The peace of God keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.