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Sermon for Populus Sion – Advent 2
Luke 21:25-36 + Malachi 4:1-6 + Romans 15:4-13
“Lo, he comes with clouds descending!” One of my favorite hymns. “Lo!” another word for “Behold!” as in the Introit today. “Daughter of Zion, behold! Your salvation is drawing near!” As we noted at our Wednesday evening service, that little word “behold!” says a lot. It’s God’s way of getting your attention now, with a word, so that he doesn’t have to get your attention later with a tragedy, or worse, so that he doesn’t come with clouds descending without ever having gotten your attention at all.
“Lo and behold!” In the Gospel, Jesus warns his disciples and us about the things that are to come upon this world in the future, and he pleads with us to pay attention. His Second Coming will be accompanied by Signs for all; Salvation for Some.
God has built certain signs into the fabric of nature that, when we see them, we know certain other things are also going to happen. In Genesis, it says that he hung the sun, moon and stars in place, not just to give us light or beauty in the sky, but to serve as signs to mark seasons, days and years. From the movement of the planets to the position of the stars in the sky, from changes in barometric pressure to changes in humidity, God has given us ways of predicting what will happen next. And those signs are there for all to see.
Look at the fig tree, and all the trees, Jesus says. 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.
What are “these things” that will take place? Signs in the sun, moon and stars. Signs for all to see, although not all will see them as signs. What signs will there be for all to see in the sun, moon and stars? Jesus doesn’t tell us. He speaks elsewhere of the sun being darkened, the moon not giving its light, and the stars falling from the sky. Is he talking about some catastrophic event that hasn’t happened yet? Or is he talking about the natural events that happen over and over again, like eclipses and sun spots and asteroids and comets? Well, Luther’s advice here is wise. You might call it “the safe route.” Better to interpret these naturally occurring special events as the signs Jesus is talking about and prepare for his coming now, because if we’re wrong and there are going to be some catastrophic events in the sky in the future, then we won’t have lost a thing by preparing all this time. But if we’re waiting around for the sun to explode or something, then, if we’re wrong, we’ll be caught off guard by Jesus’ coming.
Besides, you realize, there are no “naturally occurring events” really. The pagans ascribe the laws of nature to nature. But we who believe the Gospel ascribe the laws of nature to God, and he tells us to see the celestial events as events that he has prepared for us all along as signs that the great celestial event is coming, the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great glory.
In other places Jesus speaks of earthquakes and famines, wars and rumors of wars being signs to remind us that he is coming. Those are certainly taking place all around us. In our Gospel, he speaks also of distress all over the earth and nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, which also implies high winds. We don’t know much about waves in these parts, but do we know anything about high winds here in the Southwest? Destructive winds? This past week in Montana, they had wind gusts that were the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane. We hear every year about hurricanes, and every so often about tsunami’s, and one “natural” disaster after another. Signs. Signs for all to see, although not all will see them as signs of Jesus’ imminent coming in the clouds.
What else? …people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. That’s a sign, too, a sign for all to see. It doesn’t mean everybody will be fainting with fear, but there will be enough to serve as a sign. Isn’t Harold Camping’s billboard still up here on the interstate predicting the end of the world – last year? How did he convince so many people to follow him? Fear. There is fear all around us, fear and foreboding about the future. There are more people stockpiling food and weapons and gold than ever before. There are more and more people turning to drugs and alcohol, not just for pleasure, but for fear over what the future holds. Have you noticed the hopelessness of the lives portrayed on television – people who have abandoned themselves to immorality and sin, with no concept of the true God and the true worship of him? By the end of this year there will have been about another million suicides, and another 40 million abortions. How hopeless is that? Signs. Signs for all to see.
There’s another sign Jesus mentions, although few people recognize it as such. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. “This generation” appears to be a reference to the Jews, the Jewish nation. Oh, they’ve almost been wiped out a number of times in the past 2,000 years, as early as 70 AD and as recently as 70 years ago. But they’re still around as a nation, the nation that crucified the Son of God and still refuses to repent of it. Now, that doesn’t mean that many of them aren’t converted to Christianity and saved. Many are, and more will be. Praise God for them! But contrary to popular “Evangelical” belief that the people of Israel remain as a people favored by God, Jesus says that they remain as a sign of his return, like a rotting corpse left in the middle of the road is a sign that the vultures will soon be gathering. The fact that they have not passed away is a sign that the Word of Jesus will never pass away.
The final sign for all to see will be the coming of the Son of Man himself, coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen, writes the Apostle John. Jesus’ coming and all the signs leading up to it will be there for all to see. And that day, Jesus says will snap shut on everyone like a trap, For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.
And when that moment comes, when the trap snaps shut, you’ll have some who are safe on the outside, and some who are caught in the trap. Lo and behold! Christ’s coming will be accompanied by signs for all; salvation for some.
Lo and behold! All 7 billion people who are living on the earth on that day – or however many there will be – will be divided into two groups: those who are prepared for Christ’s coming and saved and those who are surprised and condemned. They’ll either be found awake and taking to heart the signs of Christ’s coming, or asleep and ignoring them. Either looking up in anticipation or weighed down in dissipation. Either worthy to stand before the Son of Man – or not.
Now, Jesus is not indifferent about which group you end up in. He’s not just passing on information. “This is the way it will be, some saved, some not, just wanted you to know.” He’s telling you how it will be so that you may be found among the prepared and saved, and not among the surprised and condemned.
Stay awake, he says. He doesn’t mean don’t go to bed at night. He means pay attention to the signs of his coming, and not just once a year or once a week. Don’t ignore them or pretend they aren’t happening all around you all the time. Notice the leaves on the fig tree. Open your eyes and see! Behold the signs! The summer of Jesus’ coming is right around the corner, and, as Malachi said, it will burn like a furnace! The longer Jesus delays, the easier it is for the sin that still lives in you to lull you to sleep, so that you figure, “I know Jesus could come back any time, but he probably won’t come back today, so I can probably get away with…” What is it you want to get away with?
Don’t be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the cares of this life, he says, like the world all around you that lives for food, lives for sex, lives for clothing and music, and parties and sports and games. A mind that is wrapped up in those things is a mind that will be tragically surprised when the trap snaps shut.
Pray, Jesus says, pray continually that you will be counted worthy to escape all these things and to stand before the Son of Man on that day. He’s not kidding about this. Some will be counted worthy, some will not. There will be salvation for some; for some, not. So behold! Behold – your life, and see that your life isn’t worthy to make you stand before the Son of Man. Whether you openly live like a wretch or whether you hide your wretchedness under a veneer of goodness or whether your wretchedness is mixed together with the truly good works that flow from a Christian faith, your life isn’t worthy. It isn’t, and it never will be.
Only one life is worthy. Only one life can make you worthy to stand before the Son of Man, and it’s the life of the Son of Man. So behold! Behold – the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Son of Man, Jesus Christ, came in his first Advent to earn a worthiness that you could never hope to earn, a worthiness to live before God in righteousness, innocence and blessedness, a worthiness earned by his humble life of obedience and his innocent death on a cross, a worthiness that God credits to all who believe in Jesus. That same Son of Man was raised from the dead and will come again. And he will recognize that faith in him as the worthiness to stand before him when he comes with clouds descending. It’s the forgiveness of sins. And, to all of you who mourn over your sins, he gives it to you now.
So if you’re not mourning over your sins, it’s time to start – now! – to start mourning over them and no longer reveling in them; to start mourning over them and not clinging to them for dear life, as if they were your Savior. They’re not. Your sins are not your Savior. Your Savior is your Savior. So get rid of all bitterness, envy, hatred, and pride. Stop excusing your meanness, your short temper, your laziness and your lack of patience. Repent! Because in repentance, when you mourn over your sins and are terrified over your unworthiness, that’s when you find the worthiness that will allow you to stand before the Son of Man. That’s when you turn to the worthiness of Christ your Savior, and he will never let you down.
Now you are about to receive the body and blood of Jesus, given and shed for the forgiveness of your sins. Lo and behold! Salvation is being given to you now in the name of Jesus Christ, so that you are the “some” for whom there will be salvation on that great and glorious day. Now, in repentance and faith, you are ready for his coming! Remain in this state of readiness, no matter how much longer he delays. Lo, he comes with clouds descending. Behold – the signs that are there for all to see. Straighten up! Raise your heads! Because your redemption is drawing near. Amen.
