Saturday, December 04, 2010

December 5, 2010 - Populus Zion: The Second Sunday in Advent - St. Luke 21:25-36

When we were kids, my brother and I had a list of chores to do each day. But we would always put them off as long as possible. That's because we knew when Mom would be home. She was home from work the same time every day so we could quickly run around and get things done with a few minutes to spare. But we don't know when the Lord is coming. We don't know the day and hour of his return. Somewhere as a spoof once I saw a sign that said, “Jesus is coming! Look busy!” Except when our Lord comes back, there won't be time for straightening up, acting right and looking busy. Advent is a reminder that Christ is coming. He came as a baby the first time but the next time we see Him it will be on the clouds with great glory as the heavens and the earth pass away! Frightful! Terrifying! Jesus says not. He says, “When you see those things happening, lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near!” For Christ's people, the Last Day is not a day of fear and terror but of rejoicing! We want this day to come.

Or do we? Our Lord tells us not to be all wrapped up in drunkenness and carousing and the cares of this life. There are really two things that keep our minds OFF of Christ's return and so make us not ready. On the one hand there is carousing and drunkenness, that is, getting so wrapped up in the pursuits of the flesh that we don't care if Christ is coming. We will live how we want. Do what we want. Act how we want. Say what we want. No one will tell us what to do. We'll live for the moment. Whatever makes us happy. Whatever passes the time! We live as if there is no Last Day and no fearful judgment upon sin on that day! On the other hand, we might be weighed down by the cares of this life. Sickness. Sadness. Loneliness. Worries about our health or our loved ones or our money. How will we pay the bills? What if I don't get better? What can I do for my kids? The cares of this life weigh us down and we don't rejoice as we should that there will be an end to all these trials when our Lord appears to save us the final time. Either one is living as if there is no Last Day, no Lord who is returning. No Lord who judges sin. No Lord who saves us from sin and this life. The sadness of getting wrapped up in those things is that we might not be ready when our Lord comes back! So repent! Repent in Advent and be turned in heart and mind to Christ! Turn away from the lusts of the flesh that you love to indulge and be sober and watchful. Turn away from the worry and anxiety that comes because you don't trust the Lord. Turn from all those things in this Advent time, this time of preparation! But don't turn to you!

Christ says, “Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away.” Right there, Jesus has given us the answer for our sins. For the Last Day. For eternal life. Everything around us is passing away. Some people live as if this life is it so they party hearty as if there's no tomorrow. Some are so worried about the end of all things, they try to make themselves ready. But Christ gives us the answer: His Word never passes away. It's simple, really: heaven and earth will pass away. Christ's Word does not pass away. What about you? Brothers and sisters in Christ, you have His Word. You cannot pass away. You cannot perish. You cannot be destroyed. The Word of Christ spoken with water at the font means you will outlive the passing away of this earth and heaven. The Word of Absolution spoken to you means you will not pass away with the unrepentant masses who despise Christ and His salvation. The Body and Blood of Christ Himself are your sure promise that since Christ can't pass away, neither can you.

And what is it that Christ's Word gives you to keep you from passing away? It gives you Christ! Remember how we said Palm Sunday starts Advent to remind us that Christ came to die? For Holy Week you have Palm Sunday and then five days later we celebrate Good Friday. In Advent we have Palm Sunday and then a week later the end of the world. Why? To connect in your mind that the Last Day, Judgment Day, can never be separated from Good Friday. That's because on Good Friday, on the cross, Judgment Day hit. It hit Jesus. On that day, the sins of the world were judged and the wrath of God poured out on His Son on the cross. On that day, the sun was darkened and the earth shook and it probably seemed like the end of the world! That's because the End of the World, Judgment Day, happened that day at the cross. There, on Calvary, The Son of Man was there in all His glory, saving sinners. Saving you. When we think of Judgment, the Last Day and the End of the World, I want you to first of all think of Good Friday. Of Christ suffering the judgment against your sins. Only with this Good News that our Savior has shed His blood for us can we truly lift up our heads and rejoice on the Last Day when He does come again.

You see, the connection to Christ's Word is the key. For where His Word is, Christ is. Here, plainly and simply is the truth: In Christ, where His Word is, Judgment Day cannot be frightful. The Last Day cannot be scary to those who know their Savior has already undergone Judgment Day. But APART from Christ, outside of Him, away from His Word, where the world lives in its drunken stupor, there is nothing but terror and perplexity of nations. In Christ, Judgment Day has already come. Outside of Christ, Judgment Day is coming! In Christ, the Day comes expected, longed for. Outside of Christ, it comes unexpectedly, like a snare, like a thief. In Christ, that Day is no surprise. Outside of Christ, they never saw it coming. What then does this mean for our lives? How do we watch and pray? We do that by our life in the church. By coming and confessing your sins and hearing the Good News that the Judgment upon those sins has already landed on Jesus and can't land on you. It means living on the receiving end of the Lord's gracious gifts here in His church so that we are not surprised when that day comes. It means living out these days looking out for others. Warning them. Giving them the example of being ready by being in Christ. It means living not as if Jesus isn't coming and you can do whatever you want. Or living as if He will never come back and you are just stuck with all your sorrows and trials. To watch and be ready is to be in Jesus who has prepared you for His return by giving you His saving Word.

The signs of the Last Days are all around us. All around us the world is going to pieces. Wars, rumors of wars, plagues, famine, disease and pestilence are all around. The nations are going crazy. We are living in the last days before our Lord comes again. But we aren't terrified like the world is terrified. And we aren't worked up about it like those crazy preachers who spew nothing but fear and gloom and doom. No, we lift up our heads because our redemption is near. Right before our Lord comes to us in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood we hear, “Lift up your hearts!” And now we lift up our heads, for He will soon appear on the clouds with great glory. And that will be the day of rejoicing and the end of all misery and woe. Our Lord is coming and He Himself has prepared us by giving us His Word which will never pass away. And that means you won't either. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

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