Encore Post: The congregations I serve uses the One-Year Lectionary, or also called the Historic Lectionary. For us, the final three weeks of the church year focus on the end of this age and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We hear of the coming destruction of Jerusalem, the Sheep/Goat Judgment, and the parable of the Ten Virgins. God’s holy and perfect Law is clearly seen in these lessons.
The terrible consequence of sin and unbelief are unmistakable. The unbelief of the Jews and the reliance on a power other than God will see Rome ransack Jerusalem and destroy the Temple. The goats, who found their righteousness not in faith but in themselves, enter the lake of fire prepared not for man but for the devil and his angels. And finally, unwise virgins are invited to a wedding. But when they have no oil, that is, have no faith, they are left out of the celebration.
But even more powerful in these final weeks are the mercy and grace that God has for us in His holy Gospel. While Jerusalem will be destroyed, God warns and protects His Christians. Even if one of them is caught up in the siege and destroyed in body, God delivers them through that death into eternal life. The sheep, who have faith and bear fruit by the work of the Holy Spirit, are welcomed into the heavenly kingdom. And the wise virgins, filled with faith, enter the eternal wedding feast.
We are in troublesome times, no doubt. But your God is still King. He still watches over you, provides for all your needs in body and soul, and delivers you from every evil.
Which is why we begin a new church year with the season of Advent. We prepare not only for our Lord’s birth and incarnation, but we prepare for His second advent, His second coming. We begin this new year and this waiting with His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem during Holy Week.
Indeed, our church year begins with the account of why Jesus came in the first place: to save His people from their sins. Not with the blood of goats and bulls, but with His holy, innocent, and precious blood.
As we close one year and enter another, may you always remember your deliverance from sin, death, and the devil as your Lord, your Mighty Fortress, comes to rescue with through His death.
Rev. Brent Keller
Trinity Lutheran Church
Guttenberg, Iowa
and
St. Paul Lutheran Church
McGregor, Iowa
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