TITLE: “The Sure Hope of Christ’s Advent”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text for today is the Gospel lesson just read, with focus on the words of Jesus, Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

If there is one thing that is true in this season, it is that we are filled with contradictions and uncertainties.  This is a season for looking outside of yourself and looking to Christ and His work; but this is the season when we are most selfish and preoccupied with the material things of the world.  This is the time when we celebrate that God adopted us into His family by becoming one of us, and yet this is the season when there is more conflict over family than any other month of the year.  And finally, we look with joyful anticipation for our Lord’s Second Advent in this season, but we hardly give that a thought at all in our rush to get everything done so we can have the perfect Christmas.

It is this inner contradiction that our Lord is speaking about in our text.  Jesus in our text tells the disciples about the Last Days, about the time when He will return in power and glory.  He came once in humility as a servant, as we saw last week in Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem.  But He will come again in glory and great might.  There will be signs and wonders, and many will almost die from fright; but not you children of God!  Jesus says, Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near. 

What our Lord then does in the text is draw us away from the uncertain and moves us toward the certain and sure.  Look at the fig tree, and all the trees, he exclaims.  When they start to bloom, you know that summer is near.  In the same way, when you see wars and rumors or wars, when you see the distress of nations and fear among all people, you can be sure that the kingdom of God is near.

Now that’s surprising, isn’t it?  When we think of the kingdom of God, we think of peace as an absence of war.  But that’s not how Jesus looks at things.  What He says is that when all these things are happening, when there is turmoil and fear, then you can know that God’s kingdom is nearby.  How different is that from the promises of the world?  The world promises money, or power, or security.  The world promises that you won’t have to worry.  The world even promises that there are no consequences for your actions.  To the world, you can get drunk, give into your lusts and evil desires, and just have a blast.  Why?  Because none of it matters.  Because according to the world who you are and what you do have no impact on the rest of your life.  According to the world, you can go on doing whatever you’ve been doing, because it makes you feel good.

But against this kind of worldview, Jesus offers an alternative, indeed, He offers THE alternative.  All these things pass away, says Jesus.  Your life, your choices, your mistakes will pass away.  The things that the world claims are so very important.  Gone.  The houses, money, cars, even relationships, it will all disappear like the dead leaves in the fall.  But what is the one thing that will remain?  Heaven and earth will pass away, Jesus says, but my words will never pass away.

That is the miracle of Christmas, my friends.  But more than that: that is the miracle of the Christian faith.  When everything else around us is crumbling and falling apart, Christ’s Word and promise stand secure.  As the hymn puts it so well, change and decay in all around I see; O thou who changest not, abide with me (LW 490:3).  Our Lord came into our flesh.  He became one of us so that we might become one with Him.  Our lives are fleeting and fraught with danger and fear.  But He is the rock of our salvation.  He is the one we can hold onto without fear and trembling.

So it is that our Lord gives a warning.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.  Notice the danger that these things pose for the Christian.  Our Lord bids us to lift up our hearts to the Lord.  But the temptations of this world can weigh us down, so that we cannot lift up our hearts in faith.  Carousing, drunkenness and the cares of this life can distract the Christian from the real point of life: faith in the God who comes to save you.  The things of this world are uncertain, and if you put your trust in them, you miss the very heart of why Jesus came to earth in the first place.

So what weighs you down this season?  What distractions has Satan put in your path that cause you to stumble and lose sight of the manger and the cross?  What uncertainties are there in your life?  Don’t kid yourself: those weights are there.  Satan wants nothing more than to hold you down.  He wants nothing more than to distract you from your true calling.  He wants to drag you away from your baptism.  He does not want you to life up your hearts to God; he wants to grind your face in the dirt.

Don’t let Satan take control of your life!  Watch and pray, our Lord bids us.  Don’t get distracted by sin.  But oh, how distracting sinning can be.  Think of how much time every day we spend sinning.  How much time a day do you waste being greedy, or envious, or gossiping about others.  I may not know my own faults, but I am very aware of my neighbor’s problems.  There’s something about this season that brings it out in all of us.  Maybe it’s the old Santa Claus syndrome.   You’d better watch out.  You’d better not cry.  You’d better not pout.  You know the song.  We go into this season thinking that I have to be good in order to get God’s gifts.  But I don’t want to look at my faults. It’s much more fun judging other people’s faults.

Yes, we are a weak people.  We spend more time preparing to give gifts than we do to receive the Gift from God.  We can all erect facades and put on a good show, but the bottom line is that God is not fooled.  He knows your weakness and your desire to sin and lose sight of Him.  He will not be mocked or fooled by our shows of strength and power.

But listen, frail people.  Hear me and be glad, for your King, the sweet and tender Jesus Christ, came once as a baby to pull us out of the sticky mess of our own making.  He comes to you today, tenderly, invitingly, with mercy and compassion, to remove your sins, to eliminate your guilt, to reconcile you to God.  And He will come again.  He will come in glory and light, full of radiance, and it will be a fearful day for those who are not prepared for his judgment.  But you, you the baptized, you the chosen, you who turn from your sins and place yourselves into the mercy of God, you won’t be afraid when he comes again.  You will be saved.  You will be refreshed.  You will be restored to a health and wholeness you have never dreamed.  The King will come and lift you up.  You will be exalted, lifted out of the ditch and seated high upon a throne.  Beggars no longer, you will be princes and princesses in the kingdom of God.

This being the case, live each day now as if it were your last.  For Jesus said that he will come like a thief in the night.  There won’t be any warnings other than what he’s already given.  There won’t be any press releases or focus groups or surveys taken to determine the hour.  No, he’ll come when the moment is right.  Many will be caught unprepared.  For many, it will be unexpected and theirs will be the loss.  They will be embracing their sins, trying to dream up new ways to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  They who choose the darkness will remain in it.  But those who are clothed in Jesus Christ, you who are all wrapped up in the warmth of God’s love, will see the light at his return and welcome it. 

And how do we prepare?  We prepare for his Second Coming by uniting to Him in His flesh.  Here, at His altar, our sins are purged away and we are renewed each week.  Here, at this font, you were once made a new creation.  From this pulpit words of eternal life and forgiveness are spoken week after week.  By becoming one with Christ, you are ready for Him to return and claim you as His own.

So don’t spend the precious moments remaining like a zombie, going through the motions of life, but numb and drowsy on the inside.  So often we move along each day paying attention to everything, all the details, without giving due heed to the one thing that matters most.  We can be callused and insensitive to the things of God.   Wake up.  Be alert.  The King is coming.  Reject your former sinful ways.  Hear his word of pardon.

The early Christians prayed, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.”  This is not some kind of morbid wish.  It’s not a psychopathic withdrawal from reality.  No, it’s a holy wish, a wish to be completely free from the bonds of weakness and death, a wish to be completely free from my sins which hound me, a wish to be more than I am, to be at complete peace with God, to be eternally in the bosom of Jesus Christ.  May he come quickly to refresh us and take us to God.  When the hour is right, our King will come to steal us away, whisk us off to a society of men and angels where all things are, as they ought to be.  Thanks be to God.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Advent 2 (Dec. 10, 2000)

Luke 21: 25-36