But drowsiness and sleepiness
when it comes to our spiritual life can be deadly. In today’s lesson we hear Jesus warn us about
the necessity of being spiritually awake and aware of the signs of his coming so
that we can be ready to meet him when he comes again. Jesus says that:
“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.
Throughout
the thirteenth chapter of St. Mark’s Gospel, Jesus lists various signs of his
second coming in glory: signs among the
nations such as wars and rumors of wars; signs in the family such as parents
and children fighting against one another; signs in the church such as false
prophets and the persecution of Christians; and signs in the natural world like
those mentioned here.
When we
look out at the world around us and see the never-ending conflicts among the
nations of the world-- and the destruction of marriage and family-- and the crumbling
edifice of the church--Jesus wants us to understand these events for what they
are: sure signs of his return in glory to
judge the living and the dead.
From the
moment that the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed (an event prophesied by Jesus
exactly as it took place forty years before it happened) signs in nature and in
the church and in the family and in the nations of the world have clearly
revealed that Jesus will come again and that we need to be ready.
The events
that Jesus describes here in these verses will occur immediately before his
return as the heavenly bodies he set into place at creation—heavenly bodies
that men have regarded as eternally constant as the course of the stars and the
rising and setting of the sun and the waxing and waning of the moon-- will be
no more as this world and all that is in it is destroyed to make way for a new
heaven and a new earth.
In that moment, when the
world is literally crashing down around us, Jesus says that: They will see the Son of Man coming in clouds
with great power and glory.
Occasionally
you will hear Christians worry that they will not know Jesus when he comes
again in the same way that so many of his own people who did not know him or
acknowledge him during his earthly ministry.
But that is nothing for us to worry about!
When Jesus comes again it
will not be as a tiny baby or a humble carpenter. He will come again as the King of kings and
Lord of lords. He will not arrive in a
crib or carry a cross.
Instead, as the heavenly
bodies fall to the earth, he will come in the clouds with the power and glory
of God himself and everyone will look upon him, even those who pierced him and
every knee will bow before him and every tongue confess that he alone is Lord.
That will be a moment of
abject terror for all who have rejected him in this life-- but for all who have
trusted in him, for all who have followed him, for all who have confessed him
as Lord and Savior-- it will be the greatest, most joyous day in the history of
the world for he will come to gather his people to himself. Jesus says that:
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.
In that
glorious moment of his return, everything that God has purposed and planned for
our salvation from eternity will be accomplished for you.
God chose you in Christ from
before the earth’s foundations to be his own in time and eternity. He worked throughout salvation history so
that his plan to save the world would be made known. He sent his Son Jesus Christ to live and die
for you. His Holy Spirit caused you to
be born again in the waters of Holy Baptism, and he strengthened and sustained
your faith and ordered your life in such a way that you would endure to the end
in the faith.
On the day of his return, the
everlasting love of God has for you in Jesus Christ will reach its divine,
saving purpose as he raises the dead and gathers you with all the other
faithful and brings you safely to the heavenly home he has prepared for you.
The second coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ will be the greatest, most glorious day the world has ever known
and we are to be spiritually awake and watchful for its coming. Jesus says that:
“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.
The signs
of our Lord’s return in glory are not any more difficult to understand or
interpret than a fruit tree putting out buds in the spring.
The temple in Jerusalem lies
in ruins to this day, not even one stone left upon another. All over the world earthquakes shake the
foundations of the earth and tsunamis sweep thousands to their death. Nations war again nations in never ending
violence and hatred. The fundamental
building blocks of society in the marriage and family are under attack. And the church is persecuted by her enemies
and destroyed from within by false prophets.
When we see these things
taking place, we are not to say to ourselves:
“Well, that’s just the way it is.
It’s always been that way—it will always be that way.” No!
Instead, we are to see these events for what they are—signs of the
Lord’s return. Jesus says:
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.
There’s
always been some question about what Jesus meant when he said that this
generation would not pass away until they saw these things happening. The simplest way to explain it is that those
people who see the signs of his coming and hear his word will not pass away
until he comes again. And so it has been
from then till now.
There were those listening to
Jesus that day who saw the destruction of Jerusalem. They saw family members turn against them on
account of Christ. They saw the apostles
go to a martyr’s death. And the words of
Jesus promising to return for his people rang in their ears.
So it has been in every
generation and still is today as we listen to the voice of our Lord and see the
same signs of the end all around us.
The
comfort for us
is the same as it has always been for God’s people: the enduring power of God’s
Word.
It
is his mighty word,
spoken to us in Holy Baptism that has caused us to be born again. It is
his word preached in this pulpit and read in our homes that convicts us of
our sins and comforts us with Jesus’ forgiveness. It is
his word that will endure and stand and save us even when heaven and earth
comes crashing down around us. It is word that will prepare us to meet
him when he comes again. Jesus said
that:
“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.
From almost
the moment these words were spoken by Jesus, there have been those who turned
aside from them in an attempt to predict the day of the Lord’s return. It happened in the ancient world and the
medieval world and the modern world.
History is littered with
false prophets who would not yield themselves to the plain words of Jesus—false
prophets who thought themselves better informed than Jesus himself who did not
know that day when he spoke these words.
No one knows the day of the
Lord’s return except for our heavenly Father and so we should immediately
reject as false prophets those who claim they do and instead listen to our
heavenly Father and believe him when says that there will be a day when this
world comes to an end- and the dead are raised- and all are judged -and the
elect are saved.
God has not revealed that
date to us or anyone else because he wants us to be spiritually awake and aware
throughout our lives so that no matter when Jesus comes we will be ready to
meet him. Until that day, Jesus says
that our life as his people is like this:
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.”
Occasionally
you will hear about some doomsday cult that has sold all their possessions and
gone out into the desert to wait for the supposed return of the Lord only to be
disappointed. But that is not what Jesus
wants us to do as we wait for him.
As God’s people,
this time between our Lord’s ascension and his return in glory is not a napping
time.
It is a time to be
active and involved with the work that Jesus has given each of us to do—work
that serves others and brings glory to him.
It is a time to
use the gifts he has given us to extend his kingdom.
And it is a time
to be aware of the signs of his return so that we will be ready to meet him
when he comes to judge the world. Amen.
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