A sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent, by Fr. Josh Leigeber.
The New Heaven and the New Earth, from the Great East Window of York Minster, c. 1405-1408.
In a world that feels increasingly chaotic, discouraging, and disordered, it’s easy to find ourselves echoing the impatient cry, “Any time now, Lord.” But Scripture reminds us that God’s seeming slowness is actually divine patience—patience for our sake, that we might be drawn to repentance and prepared for Christ’s return.
In this Advent 2 sermon, we explore how God meets our impatience with His mercy, how He prepares our hearts through His Word and Sacraments, and how Christians can lift their heads with confidence even as the world trembles.
Listen to the full sermon below and be encouraged: Christ truly comes—now in grace, and soon in glory.
From fig tree to martyrdom, Bartholomew’s life is a testimony that the power of faith rests not in us, but in Christ who calls and keeps us.
Saint Bartholomew—also called Nathanael in John’s Gospel—shows us what it means to be seen and known by Christ. At first he was skeptical when his brother Philip told him about Jesus. But when Jesus revealed that He already knew him, Bartholomew confessed with bold faith: “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
That same pattern holds true for us. Left to ourselves, we remain under the shadow of sin and death. But when Christ calls us by His Word, when He joins us to Himself in Baptism and feeds us at His table, we are brought from shadow to light, from doubt to confession, from death to life. Like Bartholomew, we find that our faith does not rest on our own strength but on Christ who first knows us.
Tradition tells us Bartholomew carried the Gospel as far as India and Armenia, where he sealed his witness with his blood. He was not remembered for seeking his own greatness but for pointing always to the greatness of Jesus. His life and death remind us that the treasure we carry is Christ Himself, and that even in our weakness the Gospel is the power of God for salvation.
May God grant us, as we pray in the Collect for this day, to love what Bartholomew believed and to proclaim what he taught: that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who still comes among us as the One who serves.
This evening we celebrate Holy Mass (6:30pm) for the Vigil of Pentecost, as we rejoice at God’s gift of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who continues to proclaim Christ to us and make Him known in God’s holy Word and blessed Sacraments.
From the beginning, the Holy Spirit’s mission has been clear: to make Christ known. Jesus Himself said the Spirit would not speak on His own authority, but would take what is Christ’s and declare it to us (John 16:13–14). The Spirit is not a vague, impersonal force. He is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity—sent by the Father and the Son to gather and sanctify the Church through the proclamation of the Gospel.
On this Vigil of Pentecost, the Church anticipates the outpouring of the Spirit, not only as a historical event, but as the ongoing life of Christ’s Body on earth. Through Word and Sacrament, the Spirit still gathers sinners into the holy community of the Church, where Christ is truly present—absolving, feeding, and sustaining His people.
The miracle of Pentecost was not simply that tongues were spoken, but that Christ—the Salvation of the world—was preached. That miracle continues every time the Gospel is proclaimed and believed. Every baptism, every sermon, every Eucharist is Pentecost anew—Christ crucified and risen, made known by the Spirit to a world in need.
As we keep vigil, we do so as those who have been called, enlightened, and sanctified by the Spirit. We rejoice that He has gathered us into Christ’s Church, where the risen Lord is among us—still speaking, still saving.
All Saints Lutheran Church and School 