Sunday, November 30, 2014

Sermon: Mark 13:24-37, November 30, 2014

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Mark, the 13th chapter:
“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” 
Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,
     Our lesson in Mark appears to pick up where we left off the last month in Matthew, darkness and the great day of the Lord.  But, remember, my friends, Jesus Christ is light of the world, the light which no darkness can overcome.  Should the sun go out and all the stars of the heavens, the light of Jesus Christ cannot be overcome.

     The admonition that we hear Scripture give us, stay awake, everyone here should consider for the Last Day, even our own last day upon this earth.  If we do not, we will fall asleep, slumber, rest, without knowing that our day is coming, and there we shall suddenly realize that we have fallen away from Jesus and we are no longer His.  So stay awake in Word and Sacrament.

     We continue to look to that Last Day, for it reminds us that every man will have to give an accounting to God.  Either we shall make our case solely on Christ and His merits, as we do through those Sacraments, or we will make our case on our own merits.  There are no other choices.

     This is why Jesus says to mark the fig tree.  Mark any tree’s seasons.  We read the seasons based upon its leaves and how it grows.  We know that when we see the buds, spring is coming.  When the leaves begin to turn, the winter is approaching.  And so we know by looking at our world and its Christ that the end is coming soon.  Our Lord will soon return.  

     How do we know?  He has ascended into heaven.  And in saying He ascended, what does it mean but that He had also descended to this earth once into our flesh, and that He will return to descend to be bodily with His creation once again?

     Our Jesus’ ascension tells us He is coming again.  The earth trembles with anticipation, with wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines will strike the nations.  These are the beginnings of the birth pains.  As with a woman in labor, when the contractions come, you don’t know when the child will arrive, but you know it’s coming.

     This is why Jesus says that no one knows the day or the hour but the Father.  All is hidden from this world concerning that last day, except as it has been revealed by the Son.  And what does He tell us?  Stay awake.  That’s what He gives to us.  And so we hear His warning, and we take it as gift.

     After all, we do not know what this life entails for us, except that through Christ, through His Word, through His Baptism, through His Supper, He has made us to live forever.  This life, with its trials and tribulations are but a momentary affliction as we await the day of Resurrection.  We are mortal in this life, yes, we shall die unless Christ descends from the heavens first, but we are immortal as He is immortal for Christ is in us.  And today, Christ will, in the very realest sense, be in us again as He comes to us in His body and blood.  Without this, we should perish eternally.

     When the devil comes, and come he will, he will accuse us.  He will come with a seemingly strengthened hand to accuse us and to punish us with the Law.  But, let him accuse.  Let him punish.  Let him make good use of the evil he would commit against you.  Make use of that punishment to let him fall into pride.  If he strikes with disease, illness, sorrow, doubt, temptation, let those be his downfall as we scream, “I am baptized into Christ!”  Sing with the hymn: Satan, hear this proclamation: I am baptized into Christ!  Drop your ugly accusation; I am not so soon enticed.  Now that to the font I’ve traveled, all your might has come unraveled,  And, against your tyranny, God, my Lord, unites with me!

     All of life is ours, both good and evil.  And because of the devil, and because of our sin, all is uncertain here.  As good Saint Augustine says: “A child is conceived, perhaps it will be born, perhaps it will be an untimely birth. So it is uncertain: Perhaps he will grow up, perhaps he will not grow up; perhaps he will grow old, perhaps he will not grow old; perhaps he will be rich, perhaps poor; perhaps he will be distinguished, perhaps abased; perhaps he will have children, perhaps he will not; perhaps he will marry, perhaps not; and so on, whatever else among good things you may name. Now look too at the evils of life: Perhaps he will have sickness, perhaps he will have not; perhaps he will be stung by a serpent, perhaps not; perhaps he will be devoured by a wild beast, perhaps he will not.”

     These things are all uncertain.  There is nothing in this sin-filled life but the word “perhaps.”  As Benjamin Franklin said, “…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”  Death, taxes, and our Lord’s return.  That is why He chides us to stay awake.  Jesus knows we will be comfortable in the “perhaps.”  Life seems so uncertain, so perhaps I won’t die.  Or perhaps Jesus won’t return.    But just as sure as April 15 rolls around, so, too, either of the two, death or Christ’s second coming, will happen.

     Let us not love this “perhaps.”  Loving it is akin to loving the world and all its pleasures.  There are good and pleasurable things in this world, things our Lord has given us to enjoy.  But we do not love the “perhaps,” and we do not love sin.  The lovers of this world are overcome, overwhelmed, and overtaken by the devil and his world.  The world will fall, and the lovers of the world with it.

     But, our Lord Jesus Christ has overcome the world.  And so if we are united to Christ in Word and Sacrament, we, too, are inheritors of His work, which means He has overcome the world for us.  That is why Christ says to rejoice for He has overcome the world.

     And rejoice, then, we shall.  For He is the one who was beaten and crucified.  The creator of all things was mocked and crowned with a crown of pain and derision, not one of jewels and gold as He deserves.  But, He who overcame this death overcame the world also.  And He did this for us, us who are in Him, us who are in the world.

     Thus, we say to Him, have mercy upon me, a poor, miserable sinner.  For we are poor, with nothing in our hands, and miserable, for we are pitiable, and sinners, for we do not do the will of God the Father.  But, in saying this, in repenting of our sins, our Lord lavishes upon us the riches of His kingdom.  He gives to us forgiveness.  He gives to us the strengthening of faith.  He gives to us His holy Word and Sacraments for all these things.

     We cling to God for He is the one who is like us, the one who made Himself man for our sake.  Only those who stay awake in the Lord may cry out to Him for His mercy.  All others fall asleep, and so do their voices.  But to Christ we look, and to His cross we cling, and so we cry with the song of Moses, “The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

     This is what it means to stay awake, to watch for Christ to come again.  There, in Word and Sacrament, we find we need fear no death, fear no devil, fear neither the works of the world.  In God I trust, I shall not be afraid.  What can man, or anything else, do to you when you are Christ’s?  Nothing.  And besides, it is only for a little while.  As our Christ came once as a little child, He will come again with glory to judge the living and dead.  And you, my friends, will live forever in Him, for you have been washed, you have been fed, and you have listened and stayed awake in Christ.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

     Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord!  Amen.

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