Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill
City and Custer, South Dakota
Last Sunday of the Church Year
November 21, A+D
2021
Stay Awake, Watch, and Pray. Mark 13:24-37
Stay awake! Watch, and pray. We have reached the end
of the liturgical year, and we concentrate onthe ends: the end of the world, the end of this age, the Last Day. The End, when Jesus is going to come again, visibly, coming for the last time, riding the clouds as if on a mighty steed, the King of Heaven, coming to judge the whole world and visibly inaugurate the Kingdom of God. Are you eager for Jesus to return? Or does the thought frighten you? Maybe it seems unreal to you, like a dream. No matter how we perceive His return, when He comes, we need to be ready. If we are not, we will not have time to prepare. It will be too late.
We were not ready for the
pandemic. There were
warnings: Avian Flu, Ebola, the first SARS scare. The ease and speed of international travel
make the spread of a deadly novel disease more than possible, a disease against
which our bodies are unprepared to fight.
COVID19 caught us unaware, unprepared.
Like we have been again and again for the scores of Islamic terrorist
attacks that have killed many, and made us nervous around anyone whom we
think looks somewhat Middle Eastern.
Neither COVID19 nor any terror
atrocity are the end of the world. That
will be when the whole world at once sees a bright light and the Lord Jesus
returns in glory, riding on the clouds. We
don’t know when. But the pandemic and terrorist
violence, along with car accidents and cancer and heart disease, are reminders that
every person faces a personal end, for which we also must be ready. We try
to not think about death too much, and that’s fine. But we shouldn’t ignore it, either. The instructions of Jesus to be prepared for His
return offer each one of us instructions to prepare for our own end: Stay awake.
Watch. In Greek, “gregoreite,”
from which we get the English name Gregory. Stay alert.
Watch. And pray. This advice
fits every kind of end, from plagues to terror attacks, to heart disease, cancer,
or the return of Christ. We need to be vigilant, because we don't know
when unexpected events are coming.
I used to work in security,
bearing the responsibility to guard and protect military installations overseas. And I can tell you that keeping watch is very
difficult. When the threat is clear and imminent, everyone wants to do
what it takes to be prepared. But after a short time, if the threat
doesn’t materialize, and life goes on as normal, well then the willingness of
everyone fades, of both the guards and the people under their protection. Whether we are talking about pandemics or
terrorists, cyber attacks against our energy grid or our own personal health, I
pray that our citizens and our leaders will have the resolve and tenacity required
to maintain proper vigilance. Not living
in fear, but dealing with reality. And when
something bad happens, we all suddenly become vigilant. But for how long?
COVID19, terrorism and your health
are serious issues. But not nearly as serious as the Return of
Christ. An evil man or a novel virus can hurt you, or even kill you, which
is bad. But these evils do not touch
eternity. Spiritually, and with eternity in view, we live in a time of
risk, and also in a time of opportunity. Today sin and evil have a lot of
control in the world. But there remains the opportunity for sinful men and
women to repent and gain access to the kingdom of God through the forgiveness
of sins. There is still time. When Jesus returns, there will be no
more time. All sinners without proper protection on that Day will face the
justice of God, who will stop all evil, forever. For this reason, what
Jesus says to the Apostles, He also says to all of us, Watch. Be
alert. And pray.
What does this look like?
When our Lord ascended into heaven, as we read in the book of Acts, chapter 1, the Apostles remained on the Mount of Olives, staring at the sky where a cloud had received Jesus and hid Him from their eyes. But, while the disciples were looking at the sky, two men in white robes appeared and asked them: Men of Galilee, why are you gazing into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way, just as you have seen him go into heaven. Then the Apostles returned to Jerusalem.
Watching, being alert, has to do with God’s Mission, which is to bring sinners into His Kingdom. And what will we be doing there? In the New Kingdom that is to be revealed, we will live in full communion with God, in the face-to-face presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with every blessing and perfect joy. And with this eternity in mind, as we watch and pray, we also remember that Jesus made another promise: to be with His Church, not visibly, but truly present, until He returns. Being prepared, being alert, will also have something to do with experiencing His communion, His presence with us, today.
It is true that Jesus dwells in the hearts of believers, and clearly there are many emotions in the Christian life. And of course we all want to see the Church grow. But God in His Word doesn’t point us to our emotions or to outward appearances as proof of His presence. There are many promises in the Bible, but they do not point us inside ourselves to find God. Nor to what we can see with our eyes. Rather, the Holy Spirit calls us to look outside ourselves, and past what we can see. We are called to see with our ears, by receiving the Word of God. As Saint Paul says, “We walk by faith, not by sight.”
Or as Jesus said to the doubting disciple on the eighth day
of the Resurrection: “Thomas, have you seen me, and believed? Blessed are
those who do not see and yet believe.” And of course in Romans 10 we
hear: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing, by the Word of
Christ.”
A few times in history, God communicated with His people directly, face to face. It usually didn’t go well. On the Last Day, everyone will see God face to face. But normally, since our Fall into sin until today, God communicates with us, and is truly present with us, through his Word. God chose Prophets, Apostles, and pastors to proclaim his Word publicly. God caused His Word to be recorded, written down in the book we call the Bible. And God is putting his Word in the ears of more and more people every day through the confession of the members of his Church, believers speaking of Christ in their daily lives. When we are in and about the Word, when we are meditating and praying and sharing the Word, then we are awake, properly watching for the Return of Christ. Because the only thing that prepares anyone for the End is a living faith in Christ, our crucified and risen Savior. Faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ, the Good News that He has taken away all the sin of the world, shedding His precious blood to earn forgiveness and salvation for all people.
But wait, there’s more! When we habitually listen and meditate on the Word, God helps us with the doubts and fears that bother us when we think about the End, or about the dangers and evils of life. The message of the Bible sets us free from fear. How? Through the promises, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. We can face the dangers and threats in today's world, not because we are so strong or so brave, but because we are so forgiven, and so blessed, with an eternally bright future.
By faith in Christ, we watch for His Return with expectation and joy, because our most important Day has already happened, 2,000 years ago, on a cross outside of Jerusalem. By our Baptism we have already passed through the Last Day with Jesus, when He destroyed the power of evil, receiving in His own body all the punishment deserved by us. In Christ, we already live in eternity, by the power of His resurrection. When we receive the Sacrament, we receive His true Body and Blood, by which God forgives us again, and gives us strength to live, love, and confess His Name in our daily lives. Watch and pray, and do not be afraid, for the Lord is with you.
Because of Christ, His great work and His ongoing presence with us in Word, Water, Wheat and Wine, we know that He is coming to bless us, with a smile for all those who trust in Him. For this we pray, with all the faithful of every time and place: Amen! Come Lord Jesus, Come, Amen!
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