Dear saints, the lessons for today make it hard to believe we less than three weeks from Christmas. Instead of festive cheer, we hear a lot of doom and gloom. We are warned of the end of the world, much like we are as each church year ends. We hear our Lord teach about and warn his listener of the end of the world. At first glance, it may not sound like Advent. It sounds like we are skipping around from last week’s Lenten lesson to the end of Trinity. But these are particularly good Advent themes. Advent, remember, is not a joyous season like Christmas and Easter but is a penitential season much like Lent.
And so, it is fitting that we began Advent and our anticipation of the birth of Christ by looking at his kingly entrance to Jerusalem. There he was preparing to accomplish what he was born to do: suffer and die for you so that your sin and shame are removed. In Lent, we prepare for our salvation being won. Now, we prepare for our salvation to come. We anticipate this in both the celebration of Christmas and the birth of Christ, but as we see in our text today, at the end of our current heaven and earth. In his Second Coming.
As we turn our attention to this morning’s text, let us first think about the cycle of our year. For a couple more weeks, our days will continue getting darker. Our nights are still getting longer. It is a decent metaphor for our world. It is also getting darker. It is getting more violent and chaotic. There is uncertainty about what the future is bringing. Some foresee a bright future through policy, and others see a tragic future no matter the policy. For the world, this is very unsettling. Yet what we see around us should not surprise us.
As Jesus says, “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
There’s a reason things seem to be getting worse: They are. And while we do not like seeing wars or disaster or persecution or plague, we know it must come. And that it does come and that it does get worse means something exceptionally good is coming. The close of our calendar year brings darker days and colder weather. Yet we will soon begin to see longer days. Eventually, we will begin to warm back up. Which leads us to the parable in our text:
“Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
As the ground eventually thaws and planting season approaches, the trees leave and bud once again too. It is a sign that summer is coming. In the spring, the earth’s vegetation comes back to life. Brown fields turn into green meadows. Flowers sprout and beautify the landscape. There is the anticipation of a vacation … something I am sure many of us could really use right now. And as they say in baseball, “Hope springs eternal.” Optimism for the coming year always runs high.
Odd as it sounds, we should see the signs in the sun and moon and stars, the distress of the people, the calamities and disaster as a budding tree. It is showing us that Christ’s return is coming. He will return in the same way he ascended. He will return as your righteous king.
This is exciting yet terrifying news! It is terrifying to think of violence and things shaking loose right around you. It is unsettling to think of people losing their minds over what is happening. It is not fun to think about everything you know and are used to crashing down around you. So, Jesus implores you to, “Raise up your heads, for your redemption draws near!”
We do not rejoice at the horrible things that have happened, are happening, or will happen. Indeed, we should grieve with those who mourn. Should be sorrowful and have compassion for those who are desperate. Lament those who have no faith in the One who delivers them from their sin. Yet through it all, you see that your reward won and given to you by Jesus Christ, is nearly here. And so, despite the bad things going on around you, perhaps even to you, it is something you can look forward to with hope. Even with joy because joy is not the same as happiness. Joy transcends happiness. Joy can be felt and experienced amid your deepest pain.
While the world, that is the people who reject the Lord, reacts with perplexity and fear, the church reacts with peace, hope, and joy. The world is about to be condemned. The church sees real justice being revealed. And then there’s creation. Creation waits with eager longing because in the Fall it was subjected to futility and the whole of creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. God’s good creation, corrupted by the Fall, yearns for these signs to come. It suffers, through no fault of its own, right along with us as we await the Son of God. We await the revelation that what God did to you and me in our baptisms will be seen and revealed to all of creation.
As we await the coming of our Lord, he also encourages us to watch ourselves. He urges us not to be weighed down by this life. That we resist the temptation to indulge in the debauchery our world invites us to indulge in. Allowing yourself to be tempted and fooled into sinning threatens to destroy your faith. Though we anxiously await our Christ and his quick return, we do not know when it is. So, we do practice the things that strengthen our faith. We gather to hear the Word and to receive His Supper. We pray for one another, the church over all the world, and even our enemies. This is what Jesus means when he exhorts us to stay awake at all times. These actions and good works that we do have no justifying value to them. They do, however, give us restraint and help prevent laziness. You are given comfort and assurance that the blood of Christ shed on the cross pays the price for your sin. The water poured, sprinkled, or washed over you in baptism washes away your sin and makes you a new creation in Christ.
As we walk along our journey to the manger, we look forward to the culmination of our waiting. As we gaze upon the face of the newborn babe, we consider his innocent sufferings in this life and on the cross. As we share in Word and Sacrament, we consider his gifts and their culmination in his Second Advent. For even as things fall apart around us, we know that our redemption draws near. We will be freed from our sinful flesh and be given a new and incorruptible body. Freed from the impact of sin and given life everlasting in the presence of our Lord and Savior.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD
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