Prepare: For A King

"Behold, your king is coming to you, righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9). The season of Advent is one of preparation for the coming of our King. Zechariah's message is a dual announcement: the King is coming to us, and He does so humbly—as a baby, on a donkey (Matthew 21), and on the cross—to usher in the kingdom of God, which is His saving reign over creation. We prepare for His final Advent by receiving our King in the humble ways He comes to us now: in His Word, in Baptism, and in the Sacrament of the Altar. We align our lives to our King by receiving His forgiveness and sharing His generosity, living with a stubborn Advent hope as we await His return in power and glory.