Stay Awake, Watch and Pray!

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 on
the 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?                    

       Well, I think we understand how to pray, somewhat. If not, we will practice in a few moments. But what does the Lord mean when he says: "Watch, stay awake, stay alert”?  What does this look like in our daily life?       

      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. 

      You could say the sky-gazing Apostles were watching, as Jesus instructed them. But the two messengers from heaven correct them, sending them to Jerusalem, and to their task in the world. From Luke chapter 24, we know that, just before his Ascension, Jesus had already told them to return to Jerusalem to await the gift of the Holy Spirit, which would be their signal to begin the evangelization of the world. The messengers in white robes reminded them: Jesus does not want Christians to spend their days literally staring up at heaven, watching to see His return. 

    It’s natural for believers to be curious about His return and the coming of the New Kingdom. Indeed, between the Resurrection and the Ascension, the Apostles asked Jesus about this. "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”  Do you remember what He said to them? “It is not for you to know the times and seasons that the Father has set with His own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”             

      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. 

     How do we experience Jesus, today? It’s very common that people refer to emotions as proof of God's presence.  “I can feel the Spirit ... or “I can feel Jesus in my heart.”  We also tend to assume that large, impressive gatherings of religious people have more of God’s presence than small ones.  Are these ideas correct?               

      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.             

     I don't mean to say that Christians will never be afraid.  No, sadly for now we do struggle with fear.  But when we live in and with the Word of God, He is going to remind us that no one can snatch us out of His hands. Because God's hands are Christ's hands, and His hands are still scarred. The hands of God’s Son forever bear the nail marks, proclaiming that Christ has redeemed and chosen you, forever.   

      Because of the Word, which shows us Jesus’ loving scars, we can live in freedom.  The freedom of eternity, which is ours, right now, in Jesus. We can live in love, sharing with and loving our neighbors as ourselves, because through the Word we receive again and again the love which never runs out, the love of Almighty God.  Although death and violence and disease and the End still scare us, we can look beyond all these with hope and confidence.     

      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!