The Monday after Ad te levavi Sunday, the First Sunday in Advent
Posted on December 1, 2025 by under
Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-18 (NKJV)
33:14 “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:
15 ‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
16 ‘In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called:
‘THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS’
17 “For thus says the Lord: ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’”
Devotion
“And this is the name by which she will be called: ‘THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’” If you are confused by this verse, perhaps it will help to remember that many women throughout history have been called by the names of men, specifically the name of their husbands. The marriage between husband and wife is a picture of the union between Christ and the Church. When a woman takes on the last name of her husband this is a reflection of the fact that the Church is called by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. She and all her children receive Christ’s name through Holy Baptism. She is cleansed from all of her sins and Christ becomes her righteousness. So she is called the “One Holy Christian Church.”
In Old Testament times, the Church was often referred to as “Judah” or “Jerusalem” or “Zion,” because the promises about David’s Seed were tied to that specific place. But since Jesus entered into Jerusalem as King and High Priest and has fulfilled those promises, His presence is no longer tied to any one geographical location. Instead, we find Him and His righteousness wherever His Word is being faithfully preached and His Sacraments are being rightly administered. That is where the Church is, who is called by His name.
Collect: Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy power, O Lord, and come, that by Thy protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins, and saved by Thy mighty deliverance; Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
