Why don’t you come already? – What Does This Mean?

Sermon on Ezekiel 36:22-28
Tuesday after the Second Sunday in Advent
Kramer Chapel
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, Indiana
8 December 2020

Text: Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

Intro: O Emmanuel, our king and our Lord, the anointed for the nations and their Savior, Come and save us, O Lord our God. Amen.

“Come, Lord Jesus, Come!” we’ve been saying for weeks now as we reviewed last things: the signs of the end, the Lord’s urging: “keep watch!” the Second Advent, the great judgment seat, sheep and goats, the heavenly Jerusalem, eternal life at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. “Come, Lord Jesus!” Indeed! So, we shout with Isaiah, “why don’t you tear open the heavens and come already! 2020 has been a miserable year in the world, in a vale of tears, in the shadow of death. ”Why don’t you come already?” We think, even though as Christians we know better – especially as pastors, seminarians and professors. Yes, we know what St. Peter told us Sunday, that the Lord is not slow as we suppose. But it doesn’t change our longing for him to get on with it! We’re like kids on a long road trip – are we there yet?

The people of Israel in exile thought the same thing. So he repeated his promise to his people – he would return them from exile – and much more.

They didn’t deserve God’s action to save them – and neither do we.
1. Though he was a husband to them, they went after every idol and put their trust in them.
2. They claimed his name, worshipped him sometimes, yet ignored his law and abused others.
3. And so they cheapened his name, ruined his reputation and gave reason to gentiles not to believe in him.
4. Their hearts were hard as rock.
5. Yet he loved them and did not wish that they would die.

Therefore he made a New Covenant with them – and us – in His own Blood.
1. He did rip open the Heavens when he came, not in glory, but in a baby born to a virgin.
  1. With his own blood he bought us, his holy bride, and for our life he died.
  2. With Water and the Word, he cleansed us of our sins.
  3. He put his Holy Spirit in us, giving us beating hearts that love him and our neighbor.
  4. While we wait for him, we are not alone. He remains with us until the end of time itself.