Intro
The signs that Jesus speaks of in today’s Gospel cast a gloomy pall over the
evening news. We hear of earthquakes, hurricanes, storms, and other weird
weather anomalies: El Niño, La Niña, whatever. As disturbing as they are, they
are but the seas that rage and foam, and the mountains that quake in its
turbulence, as Psalm 46 puts it. Because of these groans and cries of
creation, our hearts faint from fear of what will be when the world ends.
These tumultuous upheavals are the signs of the end. They aren’t only signs
that say life must change or that something has to give way. These signs of
the end show that the world is aging, that chaos grows a little stronger, that
the earth and universe is not progressing ever onward and upward, but decaying
and dying.
Main Body
Our Lord Jesus tells us of these signs to restrain us from loving this life,
this world, so that it does not push our Life Himself. In His deep compassion
and outpouring love, our Lord Jesus warns us that we can, indeed, lose the
riches that He gives us and also His kingdom.
Yes, we know that God will never give up in His love for us. We know that He
will never leave us or forsake us. Yet, He knows that the cares of this world,
that chasing after fleeting honor and hollow recognition, can ensnare us. And
when that happens, when we try to feed the beast of our sinful flesh, we lose
our focus and miss out on what makes for the true peace beyond all
understanding.
Our Lord knows that we can become so caught up in ourselves, with our own frets
and worries, that we forget all that He has given and promised to us. When
that happens, we forget that this world is not the end-all and be-all of our
lives.
And so our Lord allows the disruptions of this fallen world to flail and
thrash, for He wants us to be ready for Him and for His coming. As insane as
it may sound, we are should even see these troubles of the world in the light
of God’s love, all that we will be prepared all the more for His coming.
That’s what Advent is all about. It’s a season of preparation. It’s a season
where we recognize that Jesus tells us not to lose sight of Him and His
kingdom. But how does He prepare us for His coming? He does this, first and
foremost, by feeding us with His Word, where our souls are nourished and
strengthened in the faith.
But Jesus also compels us to practice restraint, to discipline both our flesh
and its never-ending cravings, to decrease what we think we can’t live without.
Why does He do this? It’s because the yearnings of the flesh work against the
yearnings of the Spirit. It’s because the yearnings of the flesh push us away
from us the yearnings we are to have for God.
And so we strive and struggle in the Holy Spirit not to gratify the sinful
flesh with its evil cravings. Instead, we are to walk as children of the
Light. We are to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of Light,
even our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, you could blow off what I’m saying about Jesus’ return. For every
generation has heard preachers say the same thing, and Jesus still hasn’t
returned! And some of the preachers have been real whack jobs! And so you
could slough off what I’m saying--what our Lord says--thinking that our Lord
won’t return in your lifetime.
Maybe you’re right. But that’s not the point. The point is not “When will the
Last Day occur?” The point is that we don’t fall in love with, and become
attached to, life in this fallen world. For this world is not our real home.
Life in this world is but a splintering apart, an unraveling, a plummeting down
to the grave, just as surely as you and I are.
For what is happening to our world happens to each of us. We have no lasting
and permanent life here. Isn’t that obvious? No matter how hard you work,
nothing you do will keep you from the grave. No matter how well you eat and
how many medicines you take, you cannot outrun death.
So our Lord in today’s Gospel just tells us the obvious. The world, the
universe, all of God’s creation in this fallen morass is in convulsions,
sputtering to a halt. You can hear it in the signs Jesus mentions. For the
death that Adam’s sin introduced is, indeed, having its way in this world, even
here and now.
This truth that sin is having its way in this world is not to fill you with
fear. It’s so you won’t cling to the fading treasures of this world like you
should cling to the true Treasure of heaven. It’s so you so you will know the
truth. And by knowing the truth, Jesus frees you from the devil’s lies. The
devil will tell you that the world is your true home, and that you should live
out that lie in all its oversized fullness.
But the truth Jesus tells us is that we are to be alert and watchful. That’s
why we fix our eyes, ears, and our attention on our Lord, His promises, and His
coming kingdom. He tells us this that we don’t lose heart, that we don’t grow
weary and give up, so we don’t believe that this is all Life has to offer. For
Life Himself, Jesus Christ, is speaking these words.
Life Himself, Jesus Christ, whose Father is the Lord, who overrules sin and
death, whose mother is the Blessed Virgin Mary--this Son of God and Son of Man
is showing us how life will unfold. And He does so because He knows that we
gauge life by what we feel, and not what truly is. When that happens, we
forget what lies ahead, and what awaits us.
So Life Himself tells us what He, the Life of all, has done. And what has He
done? He has redeemed, renewed, glorified, and restored all that He has
created. And we, although still living in this fallen world, know this
restoration is real, even if not yet fully experienced.
But when we live as we are not given to live, when we live by sight and not by
faith, we ignore God’s truths and replace them with our own. When we do this,
we make a god in our own image, and the god of our own making is not strong
enough to save us. It’s a package deal. Receive God as He is and you are
saved. If you pick and choose the god you want, your god will fail you in the
end.
And to this self-idolizing of ourselves, Life Himself, Jesus Christ now stands
before you. He says, “Behold, I make all things new, including you. Believe
it. Behold, I take what you’ve ruined and I restore it. Believe it. Behold,
by taking your sin into my Body and suffering its decay, degeneration, and
death, I will bring your dying body back to life. Believe it!”
And so Life Himself says: “When the disasters of the world become more
frequent, do not fret. Don’t despair. When such disasters happen, lift up
your heads, because your redemption draws near.” The world, and all that it
has to offer, will crack apart and come seizing to a halt. Yet, in His mercy,
Jesus will take you, His prize creation, and will recreate you in His kingdom.
And so you will see a new heaven and a new earth. Believe it!
For those who love God more than the world, for those who place their hope in
God’s mercy, for those who long to escape the lamentations of this life,
looking forward to the kingdom the Lord has promised--rejoice at the signs,
even the signs that the world fears.
For soon, so soon, you will have the fullness of Him whom you have loved.
Soon, so soon, you will have that for which you have longed. Soon, so soon,
you will have life as Life Himself intended you to live.
Conclusion
Don’t let the signs of the end frighten you. Don’t let them cause you to lose
heart. Instead, rejoice! Don’t rejoice in people’s tragedy. No, but do
rejoice that such signs announce that God does, indeed, answer prayer. Rejoice
that He is answering what you pray in the Lord’s Prayer every day: “Thy kingdom
come.”
With our Lord’s coming and His kingdom, He brings the promise of Life, Life as
it was meant to be. What is this life? It is the life of a full-bodied and
intimate communion with the Father in the Spirit through our Savior, Jesus
Christ; to whom belong all glory, honor, and worship. That’s what awaits you,
all who trust in the one, true God. Amen.
--
Rich Futrell, Pastor
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Kimberling City, MO
Where we are to receive and confess the faith of the Church (in and with the
Augsburg Confession)--the faith once delivered to the saints, the faith of
Christ Jesus, His Word of the Gospel, His free and full forgiveness of sins,
His flesh and blood given and poured out for us, and His gracious gift of life
for both body and soul.
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