Lo, He Comes

St. Luke 21:25-36

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Along with the Gospel for tonight, hear again a portion of last Sunday’s Old Testament:

Malachi 4:1-3  “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says Yahweh of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; And you shall go out, and grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” Says Yahweh of hosts.”

Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord…  Between the prophet Malachi and our Lord Jesus in tonight’s Gospel we hear some pretty scary stuff.  The Day of Yahweh, a day of burning!  Signs in the sun and moon and stars.  Terrors on the earth.  Fear and fright!  Are these things supposed to scare us?  Are we supposed to be terrified by these words?

On the one hand, we have these awful descriptions of our Lord’s return for judgment.  On the other hand, we have the prophecy of Malachi that Yahweh will bring “healing in His wings.”  Jesus says that we are to lift up our heads because our salvation draws near.  So, which is it?  Are we supposed to be paralyzed with fear or full of joy and anticipation?

The preachers of this world love to blab about the End Times.  They love to try to read the signs.  They love to think they know when the time of our Lord’s coming will be.  They write book after book and novel after novel that sell millions, all with the purpose of basically scaring people into believing.  It’s like the “Christian” bumper sticker that says, “Turn or burn!”   That’s your message to the world?

But faith doesn’t come to us like that.  In last Sunday’s Epistle, we heard St. Paul say that everything written in the Scriptures is written for our COMFORT.  That, along with Jesus saying that His Words will never pass away, tip the balance in favor of COMFORT.  When we hear all of these prophecies of terrible things leading up to the end of time and the return of our Lord, we are to rejoice and be ready.

For the unbelieving world, the day of our Lord’s second coming will be a terrifying and horrible day.  Those who have despised Jesus and who have lived for themselves and given no thought to heeding the words of their Creator will pass away with the heavens and the earth on that day.

But here is our Advent repentance, dear Christians – that we don’t get weighed down and caught up with the world and all that is going on, so that we are not unprepared when the Lord returns.  It is easy to find our lives filling up with the cares of this world.  It is easy to become weighed down with the carefree lifestyle the world says we should have.  Never mind all that religion and doctrine and stuff: “Just have a belief in God and show up to church once in a while.  Try to live a good life and it’ll all work out in the end.”

On the one hand, the world is trying to entice us into its easy way of living that focuses on ourselves and doesn’t really care about God or our neighbor.  On the other side you have the false preachers painting a picture of Jesus as a horrible Judge who lives only to cast people into hell.  This is why Advent is a good time to hear these words of Malachi and Jesus – so that we learn to fear the Judgment of the Lord against our sins, but also to learn to trust that His Judgment has already fallen fully upon Jesus.

While the world goes insane trying to outdo itself for another big “holiday season,” Advent is a time for us to watch and be ready; it is a time to repent of our selfishness and to exercise ourselves in good works toward our neighbor.  It is a time to remember that the Son of God who has come into this world has come to save us from our sins and to make us into something useful for our neighbor.  Therefore, repent of not paying attention first of all to the promises of the Gospel and the forgiveness of sins as the source of your life.  And repent also of not paying attention to what your neighbor needs and how you can be a blessing to him.

Don’t take more than one tablet within 24 hours a day, you can order your low cost cialis medications at any convenient time. However, the consumption of this drug ought to be taken at whatever point feel urge for sex. generic cialis online icks.org It is a strange ingredient, which improves the indicators of hormonal free viagra in canada imbalance. What this means for the Association industry is that those who create cheapest viagra generic environments that welcome new ideas and that value relationships. Jesus warns His disciples and us about the end times.  He tells them and us to look at the signs and to be ready and watching.  But He did not say those things as if He expected us to have the strength to do it ourselves.   He comforts us with the promise through Malachi that He brings healing in His wings.  He reminds us that when that Day comes, we are to lift up our heads because our salvation draws near.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, take comfort in THAT Jesus, not the Jesus who says, “I know when you’re awake and sleeping and if you’ve been bad or good;” we will leave that law-based message to Santa.  The Jesus who comforts us is the One who comes on that Last Day wearing nail marks in His hands and feet and a spear scar in His side.  That is, the Jesus who comes on the Last Day is no different than the Jesus who was born in Bethlehem.  He is the Son of God in the flesh whose arrival is for the purpose of saving sinners.

When Jesus comes again, he will not come to condemn you.  That’s because your sins have already been judged, already condemned, already had sentence passed upon them, already been paid for – by this Jesus, the one on the cross.  And He did it by His broken body and His spilled blood.  This Jesus whom the world pays no attention to, He is the Savior.  That is why, even before He was born, He was given the name “Jesus” which means “the Lord saves” because, as the angel told Joseph, “He will save His people from their sins.”

But, dear friends, it’s a long way from Calvary to the Second Coming.  In this time in between it is hard to be harassed by the dying world on one side and the Jesus-is-going-to-condemn-you false prophets on the other side.  That is why Jesus says plainly and simply: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my Words shall surely never pass away.”  And in that statement is our comfort, our hope, our confidence, our joy, our peace, our life.  Our salvation is in His Word.

Heaven and earth will pass away but your baptism won’t.  Jesus’ words cannot pass away.  The pronouncement that your sins are forgiven cannot pass away.  Heaven and earth will pass away but the forgiveness bestowed upon you shall never expire.  The Words of Jesus that bring us His body and blood will not pass away.

And not only will Jesus’ words not pass away, but He can’t pass away!  He has already died, conquered death, and risen victorious over the grave.  Heaven and earth will pass away but Jesus’ words will never pass away. And you, dear fellow redeemed, have been made new through Jesus’ words.  Even though you will pass away for a time, you will be raised imperishable in Christ.

But let us make sure we understand that our Christian hope is not that we get to stick around.  Our hope and joy are that Jesus’ words don’t pass away.  That means we will have life – not as our selfish and sinful selves, but as a new creation in Christ.  So, cling by faith to Jesus’ words, dear Christians, because they will never pass away.

And because His Words never pass away, you and I can stand before the Son of Man.  Jesus says to pray for that – pray that you will have victory over all these things and stand before Jesus on the Last Day.  Many people, many Christians don’t even want to stand before Jesus on the Last Day.  The Purpose-Driven-Best-Life preachers will tell you that even if you are a Christian, even if you are going to heaven, you still have to face God on the Last Day, and if you haven’t done everything He wanted you to do, you will still have shame and disappointment on that day.  Those preachers will try to convince you that even though you will stand before the Lord as “saved,” you must still give account of your sins for all the world to see.  They speak lies!

This is the truth: the Jesus who came as an itty-bitty baby and died despised on the cross for sinners will NOT come on the Last Day to accuse you and read a list of all your sins before grudgingly letting you through the pearly gates after you correctly answer St. Peter’s questions.  The Jesus who went through cross and grave, the Jesus who washes and absolves and feeds you – that Jesus doesn’t then tell you to stand before Him so He can get a twisted delight in condemning you.  No, dear Christian, when Jesus tells you to pray that you might stand before Him, it is to stand before Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness.

To be sure, Advent is the season to pay attention, to watch, and to be ready.  In this Advent season, we get to learn the repentance of turning our back on the world’s way of living and instead exercising ourselves in faith by hearing the Lord’s Word and receiving His sacramental gifts.

And whenever you hear anything about the Coming of Christ that is not comforting, flee from such talk and preaching.  Learn what your Baptism says.  Hear what Absolution bestows.  Eat and drink the forgiveness that Jesus’ body and blood deliver.

And when that Day does come, when the heavens begin to fall apart and the earth is in turmoil, then don’t be afraid.  Rather, lift up your head in joy and confidence that your Lord is coming back to bring His church into her eternal dwelling with Him.   Wait and watch.  And while you do, do so in the comfort and certainty that you are ready for Jesus’ return because He Himself has made you ready.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.