Luke 21:25-36.                    Be Careful – Jesus is coming!!                                        29/11/15

25 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 

26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 

27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 

28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

29 He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 

30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 

31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 

32 "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 

33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 

34 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 

35 For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 

36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." 

Be careful; Jesus is coming! Be careful, life is not going to be easy in the lead up to Christ’s coming! This is a sobering reminder to us in our lead up to Christmas and as we face an increasing threat of difficult times ahead. In all of our busyness and anxieties of life we can easily lose sight of that which is important.

Now it is so easy for us to sit back and think everything is not that bad. True, we are not facing the terrors that Jesus is talking about here in this reading when he says: There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. Nevertheless we all know what the lead up to Christmas is like for us; as well as how many are caught up in drugs, alcoholism, violence, sexual ‘freedom’, and all that rest. Not to mention loneliness, depression and the inner demons.

It is so easy for all these things to weighs us down and side track us from the things that are important and able to help us through this life to the next. Now I am sure we all know of people who say, Yes, Yes to all of this, but we will get around soon; next week, next year , when I retire, or whatever. Sadly more often than not, they never do get around to it. Then that Last Day and Jesus coming closed on them unexpectedly like a trap. 

As to the signs of the end that we have mentioned here and elsewhere they are indeed rather scary. Who, but God knows whether we will see them in our lifetime or not. However, be sure that each one of us, other than those who are still alive at that time, we all will die and that we no longer have opportunity to change our minds. For us all we will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. We all will have to stand before the Judgment Seat of God

For most of us it will be sooner than we think. For many of us it will be a scary thing: having to face frailty, sickness and tragedy in one form or another. There are signs all around us, all the time, that our end could be near at any time. So we need to heed what Jesus says here in this reading. "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.  For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 

But remember he also says: When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. So instead of being disturbed and weighed down by these things he tells us, as Christians, we can face them boldly and confidently. This is the most amazing thing that we can hear and know.

In the face of the biggest disasters of life in this world we as Christian are able to stand up and lift up our heads because we know that it will all work out for good. When the world around us is lost for answers and deeply distressed and depressed we can be confident and full of hope. The troubles and fearful events that lead up to death and judgment are but a means to take us somewhere far better. Death for us in not the end. Facing God on Judgment Day is not distressing. The kingdom of God in all its glory awaits.

As we face our end, we know for sure that, because of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, our redemption is drawing near. There finally we will be a part of God’s family, in all of its glory once more. Then finally we will be free from all that is less than ideal. We will be free from the sin that clings to each one of us here on this earth.

Jesus paid the price for our redemption. On the cross he took what should have come our way for our rebellion against God. There he did what was necessary for us to be bought back into God’s family. He shed his blood as the sacrifice that takes away our sin. So that when God looks at us he sees people who have been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb. Once again the kingdom of God is near. 

Now we are able to stand before the Son of Man. Despite all that we have done wrong in this life and all the wrong that has been done to us, which all has made us unacceptable to be able to stand in God’s presence, Jesus has made it possible. Instead of the guilt and shame that is ever before us in this life, we then can stand in the presence of God Almighty himself. This is absolutely amazing.

Surely this is the most important and valuable thing that has ever happened, and could ever happen, in our lives. This overshadows everything that our world around us tells us is what life is all about. For not only does it give us the full assurance that there is a great life ahead in the next world, but it also gives us what we need in order to face life here and now.

Most importantly we can know that we are loved and forgiven.  God accepts us despite our many shortcomings, because of his Son, Jesus Christ. Now we know that what we face here and now, as well as the even tougher events that will happen as we draw near to the end, is not the end of the story. What Jesus has done for us and the guarantee of a future in heaven, enables us to live with hope, confidence and purpose here and now. We now have that which enables us to live positively in our world that is wandering aimlessly through life chasing false promises after false promises.

Here again Jesus reminds us in this reading that: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.  This Jesus who loved us and died for us has given us the Scriptures so that we can have the knowledge about what is good and right and trustworthy for us to believe. Also that Word has all the important things that we need to know for living in this world in the face of sinful and destructive influences and consequences. All his directions are good, even if they don’t fit with the current thinking in our society. So in these last and difficult days let us hold firmly to God’s Word.

So we have much to live for and look forward to. In connection to Christ we have great and wonderful things before us. What he has done for is the greatest. This surely changes our whole perspective on life and what is important. This Good News will be that which is the centre of all that we think, say and do.

However here again this morning we are warned that it is so easy to allow the busyness of life and the terrors of the end times distract us and weigh us down. Already, I am sure, many of you are apprehensive about the lead up to Christmas again this year. There is so much to do and be a part of; and the temptation is to put aside that which is truly important, so that we can be a part of the revelry that is ‘Christmas’ according to our society around us. Partying, gifts, family gathering are seen as being what Christmas is all about. So often in the midst of all of this Jesus doesn’t even get a mention. In fact we even get comments along the line of; what has Jesus got to do with Christmas at all.

At the same time we have all of those things that remind us that our life is fragile and that our end here on this earth could happen at any time. Particularly as we have this growing threat of further terrorism and war; not to mention fires, floods accidents and sickness, and more. They all continually weigh on our mind and take up much of our thinking. We do much to fill our lives so that we don’t have to think about these things.

On top of that Jesus tells that when the end comes it will get even worse. "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. All scary stuff!

So in light of all of this be careful. Be careful or our hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on us unexpectedly like a trap. 

So continually be mindful that Jesus is coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Last time he came as a little babe in a manger so that he could do what was necessary for us to be saved from the mess we have made for ourselves. He came to be our Saviour. This next time he will come as Lord and King, in power and glory, to be judge of all.

So let us not be diverted from spending as much time as we can being in his presence in Divine Service, Word and Sacrament. Allowing him to help us be ever mindful of the great things he has done for us so that we can face all of this with confidence, hope and certainty. May this Advent season be a time of preparing for his coming: Celebrating his coming at Christmas all those years ago, so that we can be prepared for his coming again on the Last Day.

So now and always, may all glory and honour go to our great God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who has done great things for us. AMEN

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish