A Whole New World
Luke 21:25-36
First Sunday in Advent (C), 2009
Pastor Jonathon Bakker
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. The Holy Scripture for our consideration this day is the Gospel reading from Luke.
‘And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.’ Then he spoke to them a parable: ‘Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Christmas is coming. Are you ready? Many shoppers on ‘Black Friday’ were out and about to ensure that they will be prepared with gifts for their loved ones. More and more homes are decorated on the outside already, and the Christmas tree lots are officially open for business. Few of us might be ready, for instance, if we were to look at the calendar and see that Christmas was tomorrow, but we know that it’s still three and a half weeks away. We have time and maybe even a plan to have everything ready and in place so that when Christmas arrives, we can joyfully spend it with our loved ones sharing gifts, travelling to see family, and eating a feast or two. We don’t have to be ready for Christmas to be here tomorrow – December 25th is plenty of time. We’ll be ready.
There is also another kind of preparation that merits our undertaking; we prepare to commemorate of the Nativity of Christ in the manger at Bethlehem. In our Lord’s humble entry into this world, he came under the Law to be the sacrifice for our sins, and we are prepared for this through the penitential season of Advent. Singing Advent hymns, praying collects that stir up our hearts to repentance and faith, and hearing the Word of the Lord from the Gospels make us ready to celebrate our Lord’s birth on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Advent may strike us by surprise most years, coming on the heels of the Thanksgiving holiday, but there is no reason to panic during Advent, because this is the time for preparation. It is as Luther himself wrote in the 13th verse of the Christmas hymn, ‘From Heaven Above’:
Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child
Prepare a bed, soft, undefiled,
A quiet chamber set apart
For you to dwell within my heart
God alone makes our hearts ready to receive the Lord throughout this season of Advent so that come Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we will celebrate the Incarnation of Christ with joy. We’ll be ready.
If only it were so easy to prepare for the coming of the Lord. It’s described in today’s Gospel and the reading says it all. The Lord is coming. Like it or not, ready or not, he is coming. This is the only passage of Luke in which he speaks of the signs that will accompany the end of the world, and they are not the things humanity is hoping for. The signs of his coming are startling. Signs in the sun and moon and stars, anguish in the nations of the earth, the sea and its waves roaring, and the hearts of men failing for fear of what is coming on the earth. Then, all of humanity, whether they have saving faith in Jesus Christ or not, will see him descending in a cloud with power and glory.
We know from the Creed that when he returns in glory, our Lord does so to judge the living and the dead. Like a book that is open for all to see, there will be no more secrets. The things we have hidden from our parents, our spouses, and even from our friends and enemies will not be concealed anymore. When our Lord returns, he will be the judge of all.
Yet, he also tells us that when we see these things begin to take place, we ought to look up and raise our heads, because our redemption is drawing near. It almost sounds fanciful to our ears, but our Lord is reminding us that his judgment is not ultimately about the things we have done or not done, but about what we have believed. Luther tells us that the irony with this passage is that those who ought to be afraid of the Lord’s coming, unbelievers, are not afraid, and those who ought to be rejoicing, believers, are instead terrified.
What Jesus is promising in this passage is a whole new world which will accompany his return; a new Creation that will not be subject to the corruptibility or passability of this sinful age; a new Creation populated by the whole Christian church of all times and all places. The heavens and the earth will pass away, but Jesus’ words will never ever pass away. Just as you know the summer is coming when the leaves begin to appear, so also know that the Lord is coming when these things take place.
Jesus also tells us to beware, because the day will come suddenly. Unlike preparing for Christmas Day in both church and society, when we know that there is time yet before December 25th to make ourselves and our church ready for the celebration, there are no more warnings yet to come from the Lord before his return. The rich man could not send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his brothers and family of what was to come. They had Abraham, and we should expect nothing different. We had Jesus. The Lord died on the cross and was raised from the grave. The time to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is not on your deathbed; it’s not twenty years from now; it’s not even tomorrow. Our days are numbered, friends. We may not have a deathbed. We may not make it twenty more years on this earth. We might not even make it to tomorrow.
Preparing for the coming of the Lord is not something we can mark on the calendar and set up a long to-do list so that we are ready by that date, and it is not something we can put off until later – it will come unexpectedly. We are called to be prepared to meet the Lord every single day! We prepare for the coming of the Lord by hearing his enduring words and receiving the gifts he gives through them. The white robes of his righteousness are the only clothes in which we can stand before the Lord and his Holy Communion is the only food that will sustain us into eternity.
“Lord, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.
Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.
Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.
Surely every man walks about like a shadow;
Surely they busy themselves in vain;
He heaps up riches,
And does not know who will gather them.
And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.”
Surely they busy themselves in vain;
He heaps up riches,
And does not know who will gather them.
And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.”
We may not know how many days we have on this earth, we may not know how frail we are, and we may not even know who will gather the riches we have heaped up. But in faith, we confidently wait for the Lord in whom we have the hope of eternal life.
To him alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord, amen.
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