“tHIs Sin-Infected Earth wILL pASS aWAY But gOD’s Gracious Salvation wILL LAST
fOREVER”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Dear loved ones of God who savor His wonderful salvation, grace,
mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord [Amen.]
“The day is surely drawing near
When Jesus, God’s anointed,
In all His power shall appear
As judge whom God appointed.
Then fright shall banish idle mirth,
And flames on flames shall ravage earth
As Scripture long has warned us.
“O Jesus Christ, do not delay,
But hasten our salvation;
We often tremble on the way
In fear and tribulation
O hear and grant our fervent plea:
Come, mighty judge, and set us free
>From death and ev’ry evil.”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
508:1 & 7)
Old Testament
Reading.....................................................................
Isaiah 51:4-6 (esp. 6)
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the
heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who
dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my
righteousness will never be dismayed.
Prologue: Damnation is God’s stinging Law that condemns sin, sets
forth His gravest threats, “crushes the spirit, renders the heart contrite and
humbles it” and salvation is God’s sweet Gospel that “proclaims, offers and
sets before contrite and terrified consciences the grace of God”. (Treasury of
Daily Prayer. Scott A. Kinnaman, Gen. Ed. Copyright © 2008 Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 902.) They are the two major doctrines
in the Bible, the former being what we deserve because of our sinful rebellion
against God and the latter being what God graciously gives us because of His
all-consuming love for us.
[Tomorrow / Today] is the last Sunday in the church year. Its
emphasis is that God is, at the same time, both a harsh referee who arbitrates
with the severest of strictness and a compassionate shepherd who grants
gracious spiritual healing. That is, this post-Pentecost season “concludes
with the Sunday of the Fulfillment, pointing to the second coming of Christ and
the fulfillment of time.” However, “An option is to observe Christ the King
Sunday as the last Sunday of the church year, pointing to his second coming
when all things come under the reign of the King.” (Lee A. Maxwell in The Altar
Guild Manual. Copyright © 1966 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
Page 85.) In other words, this last Sunday in the church year along with the
two Sundays preceding it serve to emphasize that Jesus is “just Judge” and
“righteous King.”
So it is that Law and Gospel are revealed in the fact that, as Isaiah
prophesied, …
“tHIs Sin-Infected Earth wILL pASS aWAY But gOD’s Gracious Salvation wILL LAST
fOREVER.”
The importance of salvation (which means to be saved or rescued)
can’t be overstated. In fact, the Hebrew word that our English word
“salvation” translates is “yeshua”; that word eventually morphs to “Jesus”;
and, as we learned in our catechetical studies leading to confirmation that an
angelic messenger told Joseph, who was Mary’s fiancé, in a dream, the name
Jesus means “He will save His people from their sins.” (St Matt 1:21b ESV)
It’s additionally curious that the name Isaiah “signifies ‘Jehovah’s
Salvation.’” In addition, he “is properly placed at the head of the list of
Old Testament writing-prophets, for he is the greatest of them all, the prince
of prophets. Isaiah is called the Evangelist of the Old Testament. His book
is quoted 120 times in the New Testament. Of all [the Old Testament] prophets
no one spoke so fully and so clearly of Christ and His work of redemption as
did Isaiah. He plainly points out that Christ’s sufferings and death were …
for the purpose of saving us from the guilt and punishment of sin.”
(Christopher F. Drewes in Introduction to the Books of the Bible. Copyright ©
1929 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Pages 82f.)
With all that in mind, we discover initially that Isaiah recorded
God’s instruction to …
I. Attentively Listen To the Lord. (4)
“Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will
go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
First of all, we learn that “God’s Word and restoration are not
restricted to Israel but will touch a wide range of nations.” (The Lutheran
Study Bible. E. A. Engelbrecht, Gen. Ed. Copyright © 2009 Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 1173.) Israel was God’s chosen people,
not because they were great, mighty, powerful, and influential, but because
they were a small, weak, and insignificant bunch of nobodies. God chose them
to be His people so that, when great and mighty things were done by or through
them, He rightly received the glory and honor instead of them.
Sadly, they were also a stubborn and obstinate people, perhaps
somewhat like many of us German Lutherans. Out of deep concern for their
welfare, God reminded them to pay attention to Himself because, after all, He
had something very valuable for them to hear. His message was simply that
divine instruction and justice would go forth from Him to teach and lead them.
The author of Psalm 119 verse 105 recognized that and declared it when he
wrote: “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Ps 119:105
ESV)
That’s still absolutely true for us today as well. Many people have
the wrong idea about or an apathetic attitude toward faithfully attending
public worship, participating in group Bible studies, and having personal or
family devotions (or both) that include reading God’s Holy Word. They
mistakenly think either that doing so is necessary to get right with God,
influence Him, or gain personal popularity, prosperity, and maybe even
political correctness … or, it’s really not all that important or, God forbid,
fun anyway.
The truth of the matter is that God desires faithful attendance in
public worship, participation in group Bible studies, and personal or family
devotions (or both) that include reading God’s Holy Word not to get right with
Him, influence Him, or gain personal popularity, prosperity, or maybe even
political correctness. Rather, He desires faithful attendance in public
worship, participation in group Bible studies, and personal or family devotions
(or both) that include reading God’s Holy Word in order to receive from Him the
good, right, and salutary reassurance of His mercy and grace that He desires
for us to have for spiritual strength, comfort, and encouragement. That good,
right, and salutary instruction was summed up for us a mere four weeks ago in
the Reformation Day Epistle Reading: “For there is no distinction: for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a
gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a
propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Rom 3:22-25a ESV)
The benevolent bonus that God gives in public worship is that not
only do we hear His mercy and grace but we also receive it in Holy Baptism,
Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion. Wow! Those are fantastically wonderful
things that equip and enable us to …
II. Anticipate with Certainty the Lord’s Return. (5)
My righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge
the peoples; the coastlands hope for me, and for my arm they wait.
God visits unrepentant sinners with frightening and terrible
judgment. But all who continually repent of their sins including constantly
striving to start anew as Pastor Marks reminded us in his All Saints’ Day
sermon, receive the comfort of almighty God in the certain assurance of His
righteousness and rescue.
So it is that the divine service liturgies that we follow on a weekly
basis; that are composed by-and-large of God’s Holy Word; and that have been
passed down to us by and connect us with the saints and cultures from decades,
centuries, and millennia ago; deliver to us spiritual comfort, strength, and
encouragement that embolden us to stand up against and even resist the
temptations of Satan himself, the world in which we live, and our own sinful
flesh. They do so not by presenting contemporary cultural forms that seek to
stimulate emotions and arouse excitement with present-day entertainment
elements. Rather, they do so by focusing our minds, hearts, and souls on the
substance of Him who is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They do so by
consoling and sustaining us with the glorious Gospel message that Immanuel
lived for us the perfect life that God demands of us … but we’re unable to do;
suffered the cruel punishment, even atoning crucifixion death on Calvary’s
cross that we deserve because of our sins … but desire to escape; and rose from
the dead thereby validating that what He did for us is accepted by the Father
on our behalf.
Today’s Gradual communicated that very message about saints past,
present, and future: “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.
They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Blessèd are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to
Zion.” (Rev 7:14b & Ps 84:5 ESV)
At the same time, today’s Gospel Reading contained information from
our Savior’s very mouth about His certain eventual return: “In those days,
after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give
its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the
heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds
with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather
his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of
heaven. But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake.
For you do not know when the time will come. Therefore stay awake—for you do
not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at
midnight, or when the cock crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and
find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” (St Mark
13:24-27, 32-33, 35-37 ESV)
So it is, therefore, that “Neither creation nor the enemies of God’s
people are eternal. The material world is [temporary], but the Word of the
Lord ‘will not pass away’ (Mt 24:35; cf Mt 5:18). The salvation and
righteousness of the Lord will never fail.” (The Lutheran Study Bible. Page
1173.) That is, …
“tHIs Sin-Infected Earth wILL pASS aWAY But gOD’s Gracious Salvation wILL LAST
fOREVER”
As another church year now concludes and we anticipate beginning a
new one next weekend, let’s not place our faith and hope in what God created or
what mankind has made, is making, or will make out of what God has created.
Rather, by the power of the Holy Spirit, let’s strive in the strength of God’s
Holy Word and His Holy Sacraments to preserve our faith and hope in the one
true triune God, who created all things and preserves what He created. Doing
so, let’s faithfully and …
I. Attentively Listen to the Lord. (4) As we do that, let’s make every
effort to faithfully follow the Spirit-inspired counsel of today’s Epistle
Reading: “But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray
in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy
of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those
who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy
with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” (Jude 20-23 ESV)
And, hearing Him speak to us His abundant mercy and grace through His Holy Word
and Holy Sacraments, let’s not waver in our faith and hope as we …
II. Anticipate with Certainty the Lord’s Return. (5) After all, in the
words of today’s Introit: “We are looking forward to a new heaven and a new
earth, the home of righteousness. O Lord, make me know my end and what is the
measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! And now, O Lord, for what
do I wait? My hope is in you.” (2 Pet 3:13b NIV; Ps 39:4, 7 ESV)
In light of all that, let’s make today’s Collect our
ongoing prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, so govern our hearts and minds by Your Holy
Spirit that, ever mindful of Your glorious return, we may persevere in both
faith and holiness of living.”
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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