The Second Sunday In Advent
Matthew 3:1-12
In the name of Jesus.
The person who introduces the Kingdom of God in our Gospel text this morning is an incogrous spokesman. Instead of a polished speaker with a university degree in communications, he is a recluse, a hermit, really, who lives in the Judean desert and subsists on the food available in that inhospitable, barren wilderness, what some of us may consider bizarre, gross and unthinkably inedible.
His name is John the Baptizer, and he dresses strangely, disturbingly reminiscent of another sharp tongued prophet in the Old Testament: “What kind of man was he,” King Ahab asked his messengers, “who came to meet you and told you these things?” They answered him, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And the king said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” (2 Kings 1:7-8) He has few manners that ingratiate him to those who come near him. Rather, his message is blunt and uncompromising. But it is simple enough: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Simple enough, that is, for those who would listen. John’s message would sound confusing at first, but then St. Matthew tells us the reason for his message:
this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Preparea the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”
Many come forward and confessed their sins and were baptized by John. But not all. Somewhere in the fringe of the crowd there were the righteous ones, the ones who could not, would not believe that they needed to repent, much less be told by this shabby, smelly prophet of sorts what they ought to do, what God, he says, tells them to do. These were the Pharisees and the Sadducees, Israel’s religious leaders, responsible for the spiritual well being of God’s nation. But John knew who they were, and John knew their hearts, as well. And so he calls them “you brood of vipers!” And John proceeds to tell them what they most hate:
“Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
What is John saying? Is he telling the fig tree to bear fruit? No. The tree will bear fruit whether we command it to bear fruit or not. John is saying that the Pharisees and Sadducees aren’t bearing fruit worthy of repentance NOT BECAUSE THEY AREN’T TRYING HARD ENOUGH, BUT BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT, simply because they would not repent. They would not accept the good and gracious invitation of the coming King, made through his herald, John.
And we smile and softly say, “stupid fools. See where that hard-headedness gets you.” And we would be right, of course, because we are stupid fools and hard-headed. We are, to say the least, recalcitrant people, and we defy God’s authority at every turn. We refuse to believe that we are guilty of the most grievous sin: unbelief. Unbelief in a good and gracious and forgiving God. That is why we are so unforgiving towards those who have sinned against us, or have made mistakes. That is why we think we are better than the fellow sitting in the pew beside us. Like the Pharisees and the Sadducees, we insistently think that we are Abraham’s children. That we are, by some human standard, better than others. But appealing to an authority like Abraham is useless when the King who will come to judge you is the King of all creation, yes, Abraham’s king, even! And so, like the Pharisees and Sadducees before us, we are undone, for we are as sinful as they were. We are as guilty as they were, and we deserve the same punishment for their hard-headedness for we too are hard-headed. We, too, are sinful.
And once more, we hear the prophet’s words: REPENT! FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND! But you must not take this as a stern command, but as an urgent appeal, a gentle and gracious invitation. You must hear this as Good News, and not Law. Why? Because the King has graciously acceeded to come to us poor, miserable sinners instead of us groveling at his feet, begging him for mercy in abject humiliation. The King has graciously turned his countenance upon us, and from the cross, we see not a frown of judgment, but a smile of forgiveness and grace. See, your King comes to you, lifted high upon a cross! The forgiveness he so graciously bestows upon the good for nothing thief he graciously bestows upon you also, for by the cross he is King! No merit or goodness will he accept from you, for he has decreed, by his death, that it is he who will do the giving. The King will give. The King will forgive. And this he does purely out of his livingkindness and grace.
And he gives us so much more than we can ever expect or repay! See! From the cross he gives you life, eternal life, by his death. He pronounces upon you his Word of forgiveness. His body broken, his blood shed he also gives to you, and you recieve grace and goodness and life! Your sins are forgiven – by the King who loved you and gave himself for you.
Beloved, through his herald John, the King graciously invites us to repent, not because we can, but because he will forgive. And he will forgive, because by the cross he is the King! This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Left Behind (Forgiven!)
First Sunday In Advent
Matthew 24:36-44
Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 1:7)
The season of Advent is always a time of anticipation, a time of preparation. Christmas is just around the corner and plans have to be made. Friends and relatives will be visiting, there will be Christmas parties left and right. There will be a lot of eating and drinking even as Christmas approaches. Oh, so many activities, not only in church, but also at home. Indeed, a lot of cooking and other preparations to be done. Well, at least we know what we are preparing for and when we’re supposed to be ready, huh.
Our text this morning, however, doesn’t quite have that happy, expectant tone. On the contrary, our text sounds gloomy, a harbinger of doom. What is all this talk anyway of not knowing when something or other will happen: “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
But we are preparing for Jesus’ coming, aren’t we? Well, we’re preparing for something, but I doubt we’re preparing for the coming of the Lord. We are probably preparing to remember the birth of a cute little baby in a manger, all cozy and curled up in his little wooden cradle with some cute lambs, a cow or two, some people kneeling by his cradle; we’re probably getting ready to crank out the old familiar hymns: Away In A Manger, Silent Night, etc. And the malls are already blaring out Christmas music, which lagely goes unheard because people are busy doing their Christmas shopping and can’t be bothered right now. We are indeed preparing for something, but it isn’t for the coming of the Lord, the Son of Man, because the Son of Man himself says: No one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son. Could this be? Could we be very busy preparing for the wrong thing? Verse 38 seems to say so, for the Lord says that people will be busy doing everyday things: eating, drinking, marrying, giving away their children in marriage. But, you might say, there’s nothing wrong with these things. These are good things. And I agree. But the minute we make these things the focus of our lives, then they become bad things. The people in Noah’s day were taken unawares by the flood precisely because their focus were on these things. Exactly the things we focus on these days. And we simply describe these days as “the holiday rush.” What about church? Well, give a little, go once in a while; listen, but not too closely, especially when the pastor says we are bad. Well, why not give a listen to that preacher who says you can be a better you? Wouldn’t it be better to listen to Oprah? They have a way with words that make you feel good. Surely, their Christmas message is better.
And what about that verse that says one will be taken and one will be left? Brrr! Left behind! Who wants to be left behind? I bet that pastor who keeps talking that gloom and doom talk will be left behind. Wasn’t there a pastor who was left behind in those Left Behind novels? I bet he’d be one of them. Let’s not go to Grace Lutheran. Let’s go to that mega church in Lakewood. I bet that guy Osteen’s a better preacher. Dresses better, too, from what we’ve seen on TV.
Beloved, if this is what you’re thinking, listen: Osteen, Oprah, those Left Behind books? They’re right. They will be taken. Like the people who drowned in Noah’s time were taken – TAKEN BY THE FLOOD: “they were unaware until the flood came and took them all away.” Oh, beloved, the Greek is so clear, for the Greek word that Matthew uses means “take away”! And so it will also be for those who prepare for the wrong things, those people who do not prepare for the coming of the Son of Man. They, you, will be taken away unawares, which is to say, you will perish. Because you have failed to prepare for the Son of Man’s coming. Because you are sinful. The Lord himself tells us that even he doesn’t know when his return will be, so it’s futile to calculate the time of his coming, because no one knows, no one can know the time of his return – except the Father alone. And on the day of his return, be sure of this: he will not come to save. He will come to judge. Those who failed to prepare for his coming will be taken away – taken away from him and to everlasting fire. And those who have prepared, who have put their trust in his Word and Sacraments? Why, they will be left behind – with their Lord, who came to be with them!
Even now, even as you squirm uncomfortably in your seats, you know you have not prepared. You know that everything you have done, every preparation you have made were all exercises in futility. Nothing you could do could ever prepare you for the coming of the Son of Man, and like the people in Noah’s day, you will be taken by the flood of the wrath of the Son of Man.
And so, dearly beloved, run! Hide! Get away from the wrath of the Judge! Hide behind his cross, for just as the ark of Noah was a refuge for Noah and his family, so the cross of Christ is a refuge for you. Nothing can harm you if the cross is your refuge. No flood will take you, no accusation can harm you, because you have taken refuge in the cross of Christ, the cross upon which he died – for you! His death on the cross, his body broken and his blood shed on the cross are the things which will prepare you for his coming. Trust that his death has purchased you, redeemed you from sin, death and the devil. In his cross you will find safety from the wrath to come when the Son of Man comes like a thief in the night. True, the coming of the Son of Man will be unexpected, and everyone will be caught unawares, but one thing remains sure and will ever remain sure: we are safe in the refuge of the cross of Christ, who died to save us from that awful day of his coming. We may not be able to stand before the judge, but the Son of Man, the Eschaton himself will stand for us who have put their trust in his Word and his Sacraments.
His Word, which pronounces you clean from all sins; his Sacraments, which give you forgiveness and life. These things, Word and Sacrament, assure you that you will not be taken when that unexpected time comes. His Word and Sacraments will make sure that you will be left behind – to be with our Lord when he comes again in glory.
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
And you are ready, and you will be left behind, because you have put your trust in his Word and Sacraments, because you have put your trust in Christ, who loved you, and gave himself for you. This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)
Matthew 24:36-44
Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 1:7)
The season of Advent is always a time of anticipation, a time of preparation. Christmas is just around the corner and plans have to be made. Friends and relatives will be visiting, there will be Christmas parties left and right. There will be a lot of eating and drinking even as Christmas approaches. Oh, so many activities, not only in church, but also at home. Indeed, a lot of cooking and other preparations to be done. Well, at least we know what we are preparing for and when we’re supposed to be ready, huh.
Our text this morning, however, doesn’t quite have that happy, expectant tone. On the contrary, our text sounds gloomy, a harbinger of doom. What is all this talk anyway of not knowing when something or other will happen: “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
But we are preparing for Jesus’ coming, aren’t we? Well, we’re preparing for something, but I doubt we’re preparing for the coming of the Lord. We are probably preparing to remember the birth of a cute little baby in a manger, all cozy and curled up in his little wooden cradle with some cute lambs, a cow or two, some people kneeling by his cradle; we’re probably getting ready to crank out the old familiar hymns: Away In A Manger, Silent Night, etc. And the malls are already blaring out Christmas music, which lagely goes unheard because people are busy doing their Christmas shopping and can’t be bothered right now. We are indeed preparing for something, but it isn’t for the coming of the Lord, the Son of Man, because the Son of Man himself says: No one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son. Could this be? Could we be very busy preparing for the wrong thing? Verse 38 seems to say so, for the Lord says that people will be busy doing everyday things: eating, drinking, marrying, giving away their children in marriage. But, you might say, there’s nothing wrong with these things. These are good things. And I agree. But the minute we make these things the focus of our lives, then they become bad things. The people in Noah’s day were taken unawares by the flood precisely because their focus were on these things. Exactly the things we focus on these days. And we simply describe these days as “the holiday rush.” What about church? Well, give a little, go once in a while; listen, but not too closely, especially when the pastor says we are bad. Well, why not give a listen to that preacher who says you can be a better you? Wouldn’t it be better to listen to Oprah? They have a way with words that make you feel good. Surely, their Christmas message is better.
And what about that verse that says one will be taken and one will be left? Brrr! Left behind! Who wants to be left behind? I bet that pastor who keeps talking that gloom and doom talk will be left behind. Wasn’t there a pastor who was left behind in those Left Behind novels? I bet he’d be one of them. Let’s not go to Grace Lutheran. Let’s go to that mega church in Lakewood. I bet that guy Osteen’s a better preacher. Dresses better, too, from what we’ve seen on TV.
Beloved, if this is what you’re thinking, listen: Osteen, Oprah, those Left Behind books? They’re right. They will be taken. Like the people who drowned in Noah’s time were taken – TAKEN BY THE FLOOD: “they were unaware until the flood came and took them all away.” Oh, beloved, the Greek is so clear, for the Greek word that Matthew uses means “take away”! And so it will also be for those who prepare for the wrong things, those people who do not prepare for the coming of the Son of Man. They, you, will be taken away unawares, which is to say, you will perish. Because you have failed to prepare for the Son of Man’s coming. Because you are sinful. The Lord himself tells us that even he doesn’t know when his return will be, so it’s futile to calculate the time of his coming, because no one knows, no one can know the time of his return – except the Father alone. And on the day of his return, be sure of this: he will not come to save. He will come to judge. Those who failed to prepare for his coming will be taken away – taken away from him and to everlasting fire. And those who have prepared, who have put their trust in his Word and Sacraments? Why, they will be left behind – with their Lord, who came to be with them!
Even now, even as you squirm uncomfortably in your seats, you know you have not prepared. You know that everything you have done, every preparation you have made were all exercises in futility. Nothing you could do could ever prepare you for the coming of the Son of Man, and like the people in Noah’s day, you will be taken by the flood of the wrath of the Son of Man.
And so, dearly beloved, run! Hide! Get away from the wrath of the Judge! Hide behind his cross, for just as the ark of Noah was a refuge for Noah and his family, so the cross of Christ is a refuge for you. Nothing can harm you if the cross is your refuge. No flood will take you, no accusation can harm you, because you have taken refuge in the cross of Christ, the cross upon which he died – for you! His death on the cross, his body broken and his blood shed on the cross are the things which will prepare you for his coming. Trust that his death has purchased you, redeemed you from sin, death and the devil. In his cross you will find safety from the wrath to come when the Son of Man comes like a thief in the night. True, the coming of the Son of Man will be unexpected, and everyone will be caught unawares, but one thing remains sure and will ever remain sure: we are safe in the refuge of the cross of Christ, who died to save us from that awful day of his coming. We may not be able to stand before the judge, but the Son of Man, the Eschaton himself will stand for us who have put their trust in his Word and his Sacraments.
His Word, which pronounces you clean from all sins; his Sacraments, which give you forgiveness and life. These things, Word and Sacrament, assure you that you will not be taken when that unexpected time comes. His Word and Sacraments will make sure that you will be left behind – to be with our Lord when he comes again in glory.
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
And you are ready, and you will be left behind, because you have put your trust in his Word and Sacraments, because you have put your trust in Christ, who loved you, and gave himself for you. This is most certainly true. This is most certainly for you.
May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)
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