Advent 2 - Populus Sion -12-6-09

The Church Season of Advent
Advent 2 – Populus Sion
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI December 6, 2009

Readings:
Malachi 4:1-6
Psalm 50:1-15
Romans 15:4-13
Luke 21:25-36

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen

The text for today’s message is as recorded in the Gospel lesson from the 21st chapter of Matthew, especially the following verses,

Luke 21:25-36 (NIV)

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. 26 Men 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.”

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars."(v. 25) Well that is scripture we can really dig our teeth into. We like to watch for signs, we love predictions, we love when people get them right, and we love when people get them wrong too. We are engulfed by the signs around us, is the economy getting better or worse, we look for even a glimpse for when a recovery will begin for the employment of our friends and family members. We find signs on earth in many forms: universal distress and worry, people don't know where they are going, life is like the roaring sea, people are out of breath for fear of the future. There are signs which we recognize and follow in nature, society, theology, economics, and politics. And it seems the more we watch the more it appears we either struggle to get control or struggle with our fellow man over whose opinion should be in control. Yes there are signs everywhere, some we watch and some we ignore. But the signs which scripture speaks of? Well it would appear that no man can control and no one can escape. Everywhere in all countries and among all peoples, scripture tells us,

“There will be Signs”

Especially now as the year comes to an end we see many signs in the world around us. As the trees stand bare and empty, lifting their naked arms to the sky, we recall the end. The grass is now brown and yellow, a dead and lifeless thing, signs helping us to recall the end. The fields are largely empty and the sky is slowly turning its shades to the gray of winter, the wind blows, the snow falls we recall the end.

Yet in our Gospel lesson we hear of a quite different signals for the end. When Jesus speaks of the end, He does not look at the Fall of the year or the winter, but at its springtime. “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.”(v.29) Spring and buds and blooms mean that summer is near. And so these cataclysmic signs foretold by Jesus mean that God’s forever summer is ready to break upon the world. Thus the Advent posture of the people of God is not the dismal dread of doomsday, but the sharp-eyed and head-raising expectation of the Kingdom of eternal joy.

Who can describe what goes on in the heart of man when the first smells and hints of spring arrive? We laugh for the sheer joy of it. We are like the “calves let out from the stall,"(Malachi 4:2) kicking up our heels in delight, when the Sun of Righteousness rises with healing in His wings. But the end does not mean that the show is over, it means that the waiting for the show to begin is now behind us. The cataclysmic show has begun, the end comes, and it means completion, fullness, joy.

Yet we may not ignore the warning of the text. The end means completion, fullness, and joy to those who are watching and waiting, praying and longing for the Advent of the Eternal Spring. Yet we largely ignore it, forget about it, and only listen to the warnings of scripture when we are reminded of it on Sundays.

As a child my older sister lived in New Jersey. And when we visited she took us into New York City for a visit. Oh we visited all the regular places, but one of the most vivid memories I have is a worn and torn, scraggily man standing on a wooden box, reading scripture. And set below his self made pulpit a sign that said, “The end is near.” Most people walked on by, nothing new to see for a New Yorker, just another street beggar with a sign. When Martin Luther died, they found a small note in his pocket. And upon that note was scribbled, “We are all beggars, this is true.” Luther was pointing out that we as humans no matter how much we have, still have nothing, but for the grace of God.

And so what do you see today? You see you see another beggar in a more shapely pulpit, proclaiming the signs of the end of all time. Jesus said, “Watch therefore and pray always.” This is the posture of the Advent Church: “Come, Lord Jesus! Quickly come!” The heart that can pray that has nothing to fear on the Last Day. For on that day, we will be delivered from the power of sin forever. Says Martin Luther: “If you long to be freed from sin, then you have nothing to fear about that Day.” But if you love your sin, and coddle it, and treasure it in your heart and don’t want to be separated from it – beware of that Day like the plague! For it will wed you to your sin and its punishment for all eternity.

We Christians are weak as we wait for that day. Our hearts are halved. With part of us we ache for the signs that the end is near. Yet part of us we still fear the sign of death because of the uncertainty that we will loose all that we have gained. Until the end, we have always to balance our praying, “Thy kingdom come” with “forgive us our trespasses.” What on earth shall keep us and get us through? What can help these wretchedly divided hearts – so longing for the Kingdom to come and so fearful of having to say good bye to this world? Be a beggar, know that there are no words you can utter to reduce your fear. Rather hear the words of Jesus Christ, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Christ’s words are our only hope. They are rock solid. Stronger than this earth. Stronger even than heaven. His Words do not cease forever. A life that is built upon them is a life that is built secure. A heart that hopes upon them is a heart that hopes secure. His Words tell of the coming Kingdom. His Words bring the coming Kingdom to reality here and now. Already and not yet. His Words gain the victory in our sinful, divided hearts.

Taking his Words seriously, we do not wait for His Day without being fore-warned. Do not pass by His warning like some beggar on a street corner. God has given us the Scriptures, so that we might have hope. (Rom. 15:13) On the Ascension see Christ, lift up your heads and see your redemption, in glory He will one day return just as on that day. The Crucified One, now Risen and Reigning in endless glory. At the Holy Supper of our Lord, lift up your eyes and see. Your redemption draws nigh. “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” Jesus is the sign that the air with the scent of eternal spring upon you. Lift up your heads! Lift up your hearts! Jesus Christ comes for you. In His Body and Blood, He comes for you. Jesus comes to you through what now is hidden, yet one day all will be revealed. His Body and Blood in visible glory for all to see. For those who love the sign of His appearing: unending joy and the beginning of eternal spring. For those who hate the sign like some misfit taking up space on a sidewalk, His appearing will come too and it will be the sign of unending sorrow and the beginning of eternal winter, of endless death.

Christ’s Words reveal all the signs of that and His Words are what endure. Jesus’ Words are true though everything else is false. His Words give what they say: My body and my blood for you for the forgiveness of your sins, there is no more sure sign than that. A life built on those rock solid words is a life ready for the End, which is the beginning and forever. Jesus Christ is indeed the sign of eternal life, for you. Amen!

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