25
November 2012
St. Athanasius Lutheran Church
Last
Sunday of the Church Year Vienna, VA
“The
Last Day: A Day of Joy”
Text:
Mark 13:24-37; Jude 20-25; Isaiah 51:4-6
Grace,
mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. Amen.
So,
are you ready for December 21st? In case you haven’t heard, that’s the date
some think the ancient Mayans predicted for the end of the world, since that’s
the day their calendar stops. Now, we don’t really know that much about the
Mayans, but that hasn’t stopped some folks from believing that they had some
sort of secret knowledge that enabled them to predict when the world was going
to end. And, of course, the media and the internet are hyping this. There are television
specials about it and if you Google it you will find millions of references to
it.
But we shouldn’t be surprised.
The end of the world and predictions about it have fascinated folks for a long
time and spawned many fanatical sects. Last year it was Harold Camping
(twice!), this year it’s the Mayans, and next year it will be somebody else.
But they all have this in common: they’ve
all been wrong. It is as Jesus said: But concerning that day or that hour, no one
knows. And no one means no one. There is no secret knowledge, no code
that needs decyphering in the Bible, no revelation to a select few. No
one knows, Jesus says. Not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son
(in His state of humiliation), but only the Father.
Now,
the Mayans may be right - assuming
they actually thought this and we just didn’t lose the rest of their calendar!
The odds are long, and it won’t have been because of any secret knowledge, but
they may have actually accidentally
picked the right date when Jesus is coming back. Because this we know: Jesus is coming back. There is
an end. On this the Bible is clear. Isaiah told us today, on that day the
heavens [will] vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment.
Last week we heard Jesus speak about the signs of the coming of the end, and we
heard more of those signs today. And last week we considered that even as Jesus
spoke of these things, He also assured us that in the midst of these terrifying
signs, the work of God will not be
stopped: the Gospel is
going out and the Holy Spirit is
working. And that is what is happening today.
This
week though, as we continue to hear about the approach of the end, Jesus adds
an admonition: stay awake. Twice He says it. Stay awake. Don’t let
your faith doze off. Watch. Be ready. Think about it. Look for it. Wait with
readiness for the coming of that day, since you know not when it will be.
It
seems to me that’s worth considering a bit this morning because there’s all kinds of ways to wait and
watch. Jesus uses the example of servants and a doorkeeper who is commanded to
stay awake - but still, how do they
wait for the return of the master of the house? It seems to me there are a
number of ways . . .
Sometimes
we wait for things which much joy
and excitement and anticipation, like children waiting for Christmas morning,
or a couple waiting for their wedding day to arrive, or a military wife waiting
to see her husband get off the plane after a long deployment. That is waiting
that cannot wait for the day and moment to arrive.
But
not all waiting is like that - sometimes we wait for things with much fear and dread, like when you have a big test coming up in school and you’re
not really prepared, or when the day for your surgery draws near, or when you
are sitting by the bed of a loved one who is dying. That is waiting in the hope
that the day and the moment will never
arrive.
But
then there is also the kind of waiting that numbs our brain in boredom. This is the proverbial husband
waiting for his wife who is clothes shopping and trying on a hundred different
things, or when you’re waiting for your turn to come up at the DMV. That is
waiting with the desire to do anything else and be anywhere else
in all the world but there!
So how are you waiting for the return of Jesus
and the end? Or maybe for you it it none of the above.
None of the above because you’re so wrapped up in your life that you give
little thought to any of this. Or because it’s only kooks and pastors at the
end of the church year who talk about this.
Well,
however you are, it’s good to take some time - at least at the end of every church year - to consider this, and maybe repent and change how you are
waiting, because (as we started to consider a couple of weeks ago) how you
think about the end influences how you live now.
And
it is Jude that gives us some words about that today. He says: But
you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying 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.
Now,
on the one hand, notice how ordinary that all sounds. Because it is. It is
because we need not fear the end, whenever it may come. We need not worry or
have great anxiety for that day and what is going to happen on it because for
all who have been baptized into Christ, we already know how that day is going
to turn out. You know because when Jesus hung on the cross He hung there with
your sins He received there God’s judgment for them and was declared guilty in
your place. And so the judgment and condemnation for your sins has already been
given. That’s what the cross means for us.
And
then when you are baptized, when you receive the words of absolution here in
faith, you are hearing and receiving the same verdict that will be pronounced
for you on the Last Day - the not guilty
Jesus earned and won for you on the cross. So when that day comes, what will
happen is that you will finally take full possession of the new life that is
already yours as baptized child of God as your body is raised and glorified and
changed to fit your new life in the new creation.
But
until that day comes, our confidence doesn’t mean we do nothing! Rather, since
our confidence means we don’t have to worry about it, or fear that day or dread
its coming, until that day comes therefore, the death and resurrection of Jesus
gives us the freedom to wait and watch and stay awake as Jesus admonished and
as Jude described. To do these things as we wait. To do these things as we live
in our daily vocations. to do these things as we live in the confidence of our
Saviour’s love and work for us.
So
what are these things? Well, Jude says, until that day comes build
yourselves up in your most holy faith. Be immersed in what you believe.
Don’t wait for that day like you’re at the DMV - read and study the Scriptures,
dwell on them, and find Christ in them. In every book, in every chapter and
verse, find the love of Christ for you. For that is what the Scriptures are - not
a text book or an instruction book to cram for your final exam on the Last Day,
but the words of your loving Saviour teaching you of his love and work for you.
That you not fear but believe. That you not doubt but rejoice in Him. And
immersed in the Scriptures, you will be built up, for the Holy Spirit
works through the Word to do that very work. And so you will be built up in your most
holy faith. The faith the Holy Spirit gives and will strengthen and
keep in you.
Then,
Jude says, until that day comes pray in the Holy Spirit. The end
times are a time for prayer, the Holy Spirit who comes to you through the Word
prompting you and helping you in your prayers. To pray for yourself, for
others, for all in every need. To pray for those who cannot pray; for those who
sadly don’t know how to pray. And the Holy Spirit who brings God’s Word to our
ears will in the same way bring our words, our prayers, to the Father’s ears. Pray
in the Holy Spirit.
Next,
keep
yourselves in the love of God. Keep being on the receiving end of His
love for you - hearing His Word, taking in His words of forgiveness and life,
receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. For these are His loving gifts for you;
His gifts by which He loves you and keeps you in His love. . . .
And
waiting
for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
Notice those words: we’re waiting for
mercy, not judgment. Because for our Lord of mercy every day is a day of
mercy, even the Last Day. For the not
guilty we hear now and which will be spoken to us on the Last Day is in no
way earned or deserved by us - it is mercy, the mercy of the cross. Mercy then,
mercy now, mercy forever.
And
then finally, have mercy on those who doubt. The mercy we receive we also
give. We watch out for one another, care for one another, forgive one another,
encourage one another, because we’re in this together. As I said last week,
we’re not a billion individual Christians who happen to be living on earth at
the same time - we’re one, the Church, the Body of Christ. To be strong for
others when they are weak, and for them to be strong when you are weak. To
support each other and encourage one another, to have mercy on those who doubt
or have fallen away, and to reach out in mercy to those not yet in the Church,
not yet believing. Not approving of sin, as some are prone to do these days,
but snatching them out of the fire - that no one miss the glory that is coming.
That all may wait for that day not in a false security but in faith; not in
dread but in joy.
For
truly that will be for us a day of joy. As we sang in the first two hymns
today, it will be the day of the beginning of the wedding feast of heaven which
has no end. The wedding feast which Jesus has gone to prepare for us, and which
He is even now preparing you for. For as Jude concludes, it is not you or your
efforts, works, or piety that will prepare you for that day. This is Jesus’
work as well, through His Word and Sacraments. He is the One who
is able. Able to keep you from stumbling with His
sure feet which trampled sin, death, and the devil. Able to present
you blameless in His robe of righteousness which He gives to you.
For
Jesus is the one the Last Day is really all about. His work, His life, His
salvation, His gift. And so in Him you are safe. In Him you have life. In Him
there is all joy as on that day we will finally see with our eyes what we now
believe.
So
if the Mayans are right and the end comes, Jesus comes, on December 21st, that doesn’t mean that we miss out on
Christmas this year! Rather, it just means we get to celebrate Christmas in
a whole new way, the fulfillment of Christmas, the real Christmas - a joy and celebration which won’t last for just a
day, but which will have no end. That’s
the day that’s coming. That’s the day
we’re waiting and watching for. So let our joyful prayer be: come! Come, Lord
Jesus! Come, O Bridegroom. Come, and take us home.
In
the Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now
the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds
through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
(Thanks once again to Rev. William Cwirla for a
few of the thoughts about the Jude reading included in this sermon.)