"Are You Prepared for Judgment Day?" Second-Last Sunday of the Church Year November 15, 2015 Matthew 25:31–46
You’re in a massive room. There’s a lot of other people there. Everything seems very dark, and yet you’re able to see. You’re not exactly sure why you’re there, although something in the back of your mind tells you that you know. You’re not really thinking about the other people, as to whether things will go better for you or for them. You’re just there, like everyone else. And you’re waiting. You’re beginning to see that whatever happens, you aren’t expecting anything good to come of it for you. You can’t know what the others are thinking, and yet, somehow you know. They are thinking the same as you. You are as if in a dream. You’re not on earth anymore. Somehow you know that is all in the past. And somehow you know that space exploration or colonization is not what is happening either. You somehow know that this is it. Everything will be laid bare now and you know that everything in your heart and your mind being revealed is too much for you to bear. You’re not really afraid of others seeing it all, because somehow you know that they’re in the same boat, thinking the same thing, not comparing; not expecting better or worse, just being aware that everything is about to be shown for what it is. And it isn’t good. The waiting seems interminably long, but it’s similar to how a dream occurs. It all happens quickly. You’re not standing in that massive room for hours upon hours. It’s all very sudden when the Lord appears. And now all of that Gospel you heard while you were living your life vanishes. None of the promises of forgiveness and salvation come to mind. They seem instead to float away as a mist, out of your grasp. You are keenly aware now. Judgment Day is upon you. You’re not wondering how others will fare. You’re not hoping you’ll be one of the ones who make it. You realize, in fact, that you won’t make it. You know the place where you are going. The eternal damnation that is reserved for sinners is the judgment you are about to receive. And you won’t protest. You see clearly now. You see as you never saw in your lifetime. While you lived on earth, you often protested the judgment of God. While you were living you more often than not indulged yourself instead of fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things. And now you are before Him. Face to face. He is the Lord, the King, the Judge. You know what your judgment will be. The Gospel has gone out the window. There is nothing but your sin to be laid bare. You’re not even ashamed that others will now see all your thoughts, words, and deeds. You are horrified that the Lord you so often brushed off will now lay it all out before you. Your judgment is plain to see. And your punishment is plain to see. You are sickened at your sin and guilt. You know He will cast you out into eternal darkness and torment. But you see clearly that He is right and just in doing so. So much for all your thoughts, and you seeing clearly now what is happening and where you stand. He now speaks. He is the Lord of the universe. He is your creator. He is the Judge. And now He speaks to you, handing down His judgment. He separates everyone. He tells you to come to His right side. And His judgment for you is this: Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me. In spite of yourself, you protest. What is going on? What kind of judgment is this? Jesus, with all due respect, You have it wrong. When did I do those things You’re talking about? I was ready for you to lay bare my sins and instead You’re listing all these good things You say I did! I haven’t done any of those things. Just the opposite, I have sinned against You and have not even come close to wanting to help You and serve You in those ways You’ve spoken of. For the sake of what is right and just, I know what I deserve, and You must hand down the proper judgment. Ah, but this is the way it is with the Gospel. The Gospel always trumps the Law. Yes, you know what you deserve. But the Gospel rings out even more brilliantly than the judgment of the Law. On Judgment Day, you will see clearly. You will see that the Lord who is standing before you is the Lord who died on the cross for you. You will see Him clearly as you never saw Him before, because your eyes were always too blinded by your sinful nature and your desire to sin. You will see that the Judge who rightly ought to send you to hell is the One who took that very Judgment upon Himself on the cross. You will see Him as the one who as Judge judges you not according to what you deserve, and you know what you deserve, but according to these words, which He has already spoken to you even before Judgment Day!— Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. The terror of Judgment Day is the terror you ought to know because God’s Law is without distinction. No one escapes it. So you rightly ought to repent. But you also are invited by your Lord, as He shows you in the Gospel reading, to hear His judgment upon you: inherit the Kingdom prepared for you. You are blessed by My Father. The Kingdom He has prepared for you is from the foundation of the world! He has prepared it for you before you ever had any chance at doing anything good, no matter how big or small. No matter whether you did it in utter selflessness or with a little nod to yourself at what good things you do for others. The judgment your Lord hands down on you has already been handed down on you in your Baptism. It is there where He gave you His eternal judgment: You are My beloved son; You are My beloved daughter. All your sins? Washed away. All your guilt? Drowned. Your stinking, filthy, sinful nature? Crucified. In this Baptism of yours I am bringing you down into My death so that I may raise you up in My resurrection and you will live forever in the Kingdom My Father has prepared for you before you were ever born. The judgment you will receive on the Last Day is the judgment you already receive in your life. You receive it when the Gospel is proclaimed—Your sins are forgiven. You receive it when the Absolution is pronounced—Your sins are forgiven. You receive it when you eat and drink the very body and blood of your Lord—for the forgiveness of all of your sins. Yes, when you are in the great room you might imagine there will be trepidation. But He has laid it all out for you already in today’s Gospel reading. You are saved by grace. You are saved by the Lord who died for you and rose for you. Your judgment will be the same as it is now: You are saved not by works but by the work of your Lord. And even as you are not saved by works, you are saved for works. These are the works your Lord has laid out for you in the Gospel reading. When you did it to the least of these you did it to Him. When you carried out the vocations He has given you, the callings He has given you, you have served not just your neighbor but your very Lord. There are many ways He calls you to serve. In your job, in the many roles in your life, the relationships you have. Those who have met the call to serve our country are an example of looking beyond yourself to something bigger. As Christians when we serve in this way or any other way we can see the calling for what it is: our Lord giving us to do the works already prepared beforehand for us to do. In the Epistle reading Peter gives the proper perspective for living in the knowledge that our Lord will return soon and that all of this will go away: “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” You don’t know when you will stand before your Lord on Judgment Day. But you already know what to expect. He has laid it all out for you in the Gospel reading. He is your Lord, He has already given you salvation. It is our prayer then until He comes in glory what we have already prayed for in the Collect: O Lord, so rule and govern our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that, ever mindful of the end of all things and the day of Your just judgment, we may be stirred up to holiness of living here and dwell with You forever hereafter. Amen. SDG -- Pastor Paul L. Willweber Prince of Peace Lutheran Church [LCMS] 6801 Easton Ct., San Diego, California 92120 619.583.1436 princeofpeacesd.net three-taverns.net It is the spirit and genius of Lutheranism to be liberal in everything except where the marks of the Church are concerned. [Henry Hamann, On Being a Christian] _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
