Did you know that Jesus Christ is
coming? “For the Lord himself will come
down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with
the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are
left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air. And so we will be with the Lord
forever.” Did you know that Jesus Christ
is coming?
I
know that Jesus Christ is coming, but I don’t think about it much at all. And I know I should. Jesus told us to “Stay awake!” To “Watch” so that the day doesn’t catch us
off guard like a thief in the night. Most
of the time, when Jesus’ second coming is talked about in church, those are the
words that we hear. We feel bad for a
little while that, no, we don’t really think about him returning much, we
really should, and then we go back to forgetting about it as we get involved in
our shopping and decorating and preparing for Christmas. I mean, if the church really wanted you to
focus on the second coming, this reading would show up around the middle of
January when everyone is bored and snowed in—not when everyone is so busy! Not during the “most wonderful time of the
year!” We don’t have time to prepare
because we are too busy preparing for everything else!
And
so, talk about the second coming usually falls into that category that Martin
Luther would call, “The Law.” The Law
says, “Do this and it is never done.” We
are always supposed to watch, stay awake and prepare, but since we can’t do it
enough, and Jesus still hasn’t come back anyway, we just say, “Well, can’t be
perfect!” And get back to baking our
sugar cookies and folding the laundry before our guests come over. But what if Jesus wasn’t trying to make us
feel bad at all? What if we’ve missed
the point of his return and make it into a religious demand rather than a
heavenly promise?
Yes,
I think that we all have reason to fear the time when Jesus returns. We will all fall short of God’s glory after
all. We’ll realize that our time is up
and we didn’t make the most of it. But
did you ever stop to think that Jesus’ return will also be a time of
celebration? That we are preparing for a
party? That we are watching for the
guest of honor? That we are staying awake
to witness a once in a lifetime event?
I’m
a pretty social and extraverted person, so I usually look forward to having
people come over to my house. But I
don’t like getting ready for them to come because we have to clean. I just want to relax or get some other work
done. I don’t want to clean the
bathrooms! It always seems like I just
did it whether it was two weeks ago or two months ago. We have to put away our laundry and vaccum
and sweep and take out the trash! But I
love having people come over so I do it begrudgingly. No matter how much work there is to do, I
know that it is for a purpose that I am looking forward to.
The
truth is, actually, I WANT my house to look nice. I don’t want to be embarrassed by mold
growing in the toilets or dirt clods by the shoes. If Kristy and I have friends coming over, I
want to show them that I care about them enough to clean. I want them to know that they are special. That they are worth the extra effort.
Listen
to this reading from 2nd Peter chapter 3, “But the day of the Lord
will come like a thief. The heavens will
disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth
and everything will be laid bare. So
then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to
be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.” You and I pile up a lot of crud in our
lives. Especially our spiritual lives
can become dusty when unused or a little dirty with misuse. Our hearts need a good scrubbing every once
in a while or they can become filthy.
Jesus will be coming soon and one of the best ways to celebrate his
return is to do some cleaning up in your life.
It’s not necessarily fun and, of course, he’d come anyway whether you’ve
cleaned or not. But because, as his
child, you are looking forward to eternal life, preparing for his coming is a
way to show him that you respect and care for your relationship. Cleaning up your life is a way to celebrate
the second coming. So while you prepare
for the earthly celebration of Christmas, don’t forget to prepare for the
eternal celebration starting when Christ returns.
Christmastime
can be one of the most stressful times of the year. All the extra shopping and spending, the
cooking and baking—preparing for that day and all the festivities around it can
be difficult. And yet, even with all the
frustrations and difficulties, don’t you kind of look forward to them in a
way? Nobody likes the full parking lots,
but it feels special somehow to realize all these people are doing the same
thing you are. You don’t want to break
your budget, but you want others to know how much you care about them. It can be exhausting, all the parties you
must prepare for and meals you serve, but this is an event you look forward to
because it is a Celebration.
In
Kristy’s family, they alternate where Christmas is going to be held each year
by having each aunt or uncle hold it in their house once every four years. I remember the first Christmas I was a part
of their family when her mom held it at her house. We had to clean the basement and decorate and
we did it for like three days straight.
It was a ton of work . . . but you know what? I really enjoyed the Christmas. More than most actually. Because when you put forward a lot of effort
for something, the reward of the celebration seems to be that much
sweeter. When I played football, the
games we won were sweeter when I played in them. I’ve had Christmases where I bought hardly
any presents and didn’t really think about the day until Christmas
morning. Yeah, it was less work, but
less celebration too. I got out what I
put in.
When
Christ returns in his glory, there will be a celebration for all those who
believe in Him. Every moment of your
life is preparing for that day. Those of
you who come to church each week, who pray to God at home and listen to his
voice throughout the day, who volunteer your talents and give your time. Who share your money with those in need . . .
I know that this can seem like a lot of work.
Like it’s thankless and maybe even pointless sometimes. But when that trumpet sounds and Christ
returns, that celebration is going to be sweet for you. Not because you deserve any extra credit, but
because you put in extra effort. Scripture
says that “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord”,
but for those of you who have spent your life on your knees in prayer and
singing praises to the name of your Savior, it will seem like the best worship
service of your entire life. Like I
said, your life will simply be preparation for that glorious day!
Today’s
gospel says, “Watch! Keep awake!” The first thing I thought of was when my
grandma and grandpa Broers would come to our house. When I was little, I’d try and try to stay
awake just to give them a hug and then go to sleep. Or, if
Kristy would go home alone some weekend, I’d wait up for her to come back to
college for the schoolweek. It wasn’t
that I couldn’t have fallen asleep. It
wasn’t that I didn’t want to sleep, I did.
But I wanted the joy of seeing these people more.
Jesus
Christ, “Stay awake, I’m coming soon!”
“Keep watch, I’ll be pulling up any moment now!” Jesus says that, for those who fall asleep,
he is like a thief in the night, but that’s not how he would be seen by those
who are awaiting his coming. Theives
come in when we are sleeping, but guests, family and friends come when we are
staying up late for their arrival. What
is Jesus to you? That will make it clear
how you ought to live your life. If you
call upon Him as your Savior it is time to prepare for his coming, to clean up
your proverbial house, to watch, to keep awake, to stay out of the
darkness.
The
truth is that we do not know the hour that he is coming or the day. But the promise, the great promise of celebration
is that, he is coming. Any time now, any
moment and any day. It will be a great celebration and you are invited to join
in the party. Amen.
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