Sermon for November 28th (Christ's Second Coming)

Our gospel reading today comes from Matthew chapter 24, verse 36. Jesus is talking about the day he comes again: the second coming of Christ! The prophets of the Old Testament called this, “The Day of the Lord.” Some today call it, “The End of Time” or “Judgment Day”. But Jesus didn’t just start talking about it one afternoon out of the blue, he was answering a question given to him by his disciples, “As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” How many of you wonder the same thing? When will Jesus be coming again? How will I know? What will be the signs? How will I be able to tell the difference between today and that day or whether today is that day?

Before today’s reading, Jesus spends some time talking about the “signs”. He describes what the day will look like when he comes again. “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” It will be like lightning. It will be fast, it will be shocking, it will be public. When Jesus comes again, it will not be behind closed doors. It will not be secretive. Everybody will know. And it will happen suddenly. “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” That’s all from Matthew, that’s not Revelation folks, that’s simply Jesus talking to his disciples one day.

What have you heard about the second coming of Christ? Does your image fit what Jesus actually said? I think that it is extremely important that we test our individual theories against what scripture says on this topic. I have heard, and read, many things about the end of time and, so often, they don’t seem to really jive with what Jesus says. Sometimes even popular books, like the Left Behind series, seem to leave scripture behind for the sake of a good story. People disappearing and leaving their clothes behind? Nobody knows what’s happening except for a few Christians who weren’t really believers before? That doesn’t sound to me like the second coming of Christ that Jesus is talking about here.

According to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4, “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. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” Jesus did not come in secret and he will not return in secret, like a mystifying magic trick. When Jesus comes it will be like lightning. There will be trumpets. It will be a surprise, yes indeed, but it will be very, very public. “I’m coming soon. Get ready.” Jesus says.

Some will say, “But what about the time before that. What the Bible calls the “time of distress”? The Great Tribulation!” Yes, we must talk of that as well because it is certainly what most people focus on. The Great Tribulation. But first, let me point something out to you. This time of distress, by whatever name you want to call it, is BEFORE Christ comes again. According to scripture, it is BEFORE the consummation of the kingdom. “Immediately AFTER the distress of those days, “the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.”

Let me make this perfectly clear once more. According to scripture, when Christ come everything old has passed away. The new has come! There will be a time of great trial and tribulation, the book of Daniel says, “But everyone whose name if found written in the book--will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” In Mark, Jesus says, “those days of distress will be unequaled from the beginning when God created the world until now—and never to be equaled again. But for the sake of the elect he has shortened them.

Does that make sense with concepts such as the rapture where true believers “escape” this time of trial? Throughout Revelation, God’s people are called to “overcome” and to be faithful through patient endurance. In Revelation 7, there is a great multitude who is said to have come through the Great Tribulation and were washed by the blood of the Lamb.

Why am I making such a big deal out of this? Well, because I believe we have slipped in our theology. We are slicing and dicing scripture, cutting and pasting this with that until we are all so confused we don’t know what to think or believe. We’ve left scripture behind for a good story. And so we become worried that we don’t know enough about the End Times as if that was somehow a prerequisite for eternal life. It’s interesting to speculate, but not at the expense of trusting in Jesus as the final Word for your life. Maybe it’s just too simple. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you shall be saved.” Jesus says, “I’m coming soon. Get ready.”

In the last two weeks, I’ve had multiple people ask me about how exactly Jesus is going to come again. There is an idea out there and Jesus will be born again, walk around as a thirty year old again but, this time, we’d better recognize him or else! But that’s not what the Bible says at all. I remember, when I was in high school, I told my dad that if he ever came home one day and I wasn’t there and he couldn’t figure out why, that Jesus must have come by and asked me to leave with him. I’d have to go without saying goodbye.” Now why would I have said that? Well, I guess I believed that this was what was going to happen? And, I guess I had delusions of grandeur . . . I wanted to be one of the disciples! But what does scripture actually say!

Remember last week’s reading from Acts? It said right there how Jesus would come again, “Jesus was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Where is the confusion? The Bible is very clear on this.

But do you know what? I think that we want more. We want more drama. We want more suspense. We want a good story. And, so, like me, we imagine Jesus coming back for more disciples hoping to be a hero for Jesus. We want a long drawn out story like the Left Behind series, to excite us. We want Kirk Cameron to be our hero for Jesus! It’s more exciting than what scripture tells us. “Be ready. I’m coming soon.” We end up focusing on the Great Tribulation instead of the everlasting kingdom. On knowledge of prophecy instead of faith in promises.

Instead of trusting in Jesus’ promise to come again, we get wrapped up in looking for “signs” that he’s about to come! Jesus’ return stops being something that we prepare for and hope for and starts becoming something we “study”. And while those signs of Jesus’ return might be “right on” here’s the danger: don’t get focused on the trees and miss the forest. Jesus explains the purpose of his talk with the disciples and it wasn’t so that they’d be able to say “I knew you were coming! I saw the signs!” No, Jesus says, “Keep watch, because you do not know of what day your Lord will come. Be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect him.” It’s not about what you know, it’s who you know. Following God’s will has less to do with watching a specific timeline than it does with watching over your way of life. Don’t get so focused on the world events that you never take a look at yourself. Get yourself ready so that no matter what the world throws at you, you can stay faithful.

This is the first week of Advent in the church year. Advent is a time of preparation. We are preparing for Christmas, but we are also always expecting the return of Jesus as he promised. How are you preparing? By watching the signs? Watching the news? Or by watching over your heart?

How are you preparing for Jesus second coming? What will Jesus find in your house when he enters it like a thief? Don’t just memorize prophecies, trust in promises. Your promises. There will be trials. There will be a great Tribulation. Get ready to stay faithful to Jesus and his Word to the end. The End Times can sometimes appear very dark and complicated, but they are also quite simple. Jesus promises, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that where I am there you may be also.”

Sermon for November 29th

Now that Thanksgiving is over, everyone will turn their focus to Christmas. Of course, many people, especially those in charge of retail stores, have already been focusing on Christmas. A few weeks ago, my children were referring to all the wrapped presents and holiday lights hanging around particular stores saying, “Is it Christmas already?” No, it wasn’t even Thanksgiving. Some seminary friends of mine on Facebook have said that they get very annoyed that they are already hearing Christmas music when they go to the local coffee shop. By the time Christmas Day actually comes around, will anybody care anymore?

Today’s gospel text encourages us to be on guard so that our hearts are not weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the worries of this life, so that the day does not catch us unexpectedly, like a trap. It must not be talking about Christmas. With all the holiday festivities, Christmas parties, shopping trips, and Christmas concerts, most of us can’t imagine how we could possibly be caught unexpectedly by Christmas. And yet, you may have noticed in Christmases past, that it is easy to be caught by surprise at the Christmas Eve service, barely aware of what you were celebrating all those weeks before in the first place.

By the time Christmas Day has arrived, there is very little to look forward to. I mean the parties are over and you are already sick and tired of hearing Jingle bell rock for the umpteenth time. Even coming to Christmas worship services seems like an annoyance, or a chore, because you are so busy preparing for meals, hosting family members coming from out of town and buying or wrapping last minute gifts. It is just too easy to go through the entire holiday season and forget about Christ. Will you miss the point this year? Be alert, because there are many traps before December 25th.

I have never been drunk in my life, I really don’t drink anything but communion wine to be quite honest, so do people like me just get a free ride when reading these last verses in Luke that talk about not being a partier and getting drunk? Well, to be honest, alcohol is not my drug of choice. I’m addicted to other things. Mostly, I am addicted to me. I want my free time. I want my work time. I want to eat what I want. I want to watch the movies I want. I want to read when I want to read. I want to sleep when I want to sleep. I am addicted to me. These things are legal, even seen as positives for many people who like to focus on “self-care” and “boundaries”, and yet they take my focus off of God. What is your drug of choice?

For many people, in Jesus’ time as well as in ours, it is alcohol. However, there is nothing sinful about alcohol (I mean, we DO use wine for communion after all). But when you go to a Christmas party, what do you use it for? To celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ? Is that what’s on your mind? Or are you a social drinker, since everyone else is doing it? Or do you just want to get a nice buzz going? To drink away the worries? The memories? Most everyone would say that a party isn’t a party without some alcoholic beverages. What might Jesus say? Perhaps, that a Christmas party isn’t really a Christmas party without Jesus Christ at its center? What is going to be the focus of your holiday season? Jesus Christ or something else? Just to be very clear, this text isn’t about misusing alcohol, even though for some it might be about that as well. This text asks: Are you ready for Jesus to come again? Would you even notice if He did? Even at a wild and crazy Christmas party with some of your best friends?

The text today, from the gospel of Luke, is also not about Christmas. It is about the second coming of Christ, not his birth. But it certainly applies to this time of the year. Are you aware that the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas might be the most difficult time to be alert, aware and on your guard for the coming of Christ? That seems wrong somehow, doesn’t it? But, sometimes, it is our most pious feelings, our greatest virtues, and our most religious holidays that pull us away from God the most. Not just because there are so many traps to fall into, but because we are lulled into complacency.

You all remember the disciple Peter when he very thoughtfully took Jesus aside one day and explained that Jesus really shouldn’t be talking about dying on a cross in front of all his followers? He rebuked Jesus, the text says. And I’m sure that Peter felt very righteous in doing so. He was one of the twelve, after all, and Jesus was on a roll, ministry wise. It couldn’t have been very uplifting to hear Jesus talk about suffering and dying. But Jesus rebuked Peter right back and said, “Get behind me Satan, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” It is easy to confuse our desires and God’s desires, our righteousness for God’s righteousness.

How many times do you think parents repeat this mantra to their children before Christmas: “Christmas is about giving, NOT receiving.” Or “Tis better to give than to receive.” How many times? It’s like the motto of Christmas to make it seem like a nice holiday, a nice religious holiday, just without any mention of God or Jesus. So Santa becomes God who packs his bag full of goodies to give to the “nice” boys and girls. It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas brings out the best in everyone, right? We all feel very righteous at Christmastime when we give to the Salvation Army bell ringer outside of the grocery store and then show up at the Christmas Eve service. We’ll all feel very splendid when we see the pews full, hopefully, and breathe a sigh of relief that all is right in the world again. Ahhh.

But Christmas isn’t about what we are giving to others; it is about what God has given to us. Not because we are nice, but because we are naughty. Santa Claus got it all wrong! If the long lines of shoppers and gigantic credit card bills are any indication, even during the most wonderful time of the year, most of us have our minds, not on divine things, but on human things. And the scary thing is that we all feel very self-righteous about that, don’t we? Some of you might even be thinking, how dare I talk about Christmas in such a mean way? You don’t want to come to church to hear the Grinch give a sermon!

But maybe we’ve just learned to be inspired by the wrong things. Like a drug user who can’t find happiness apart from a high even with a beautiful family at home, a great job and all the blessings of the world at his or her feet. Maybe we’ve become confused about what makes a great holiday party and now we are just going along with traditions? Perhaps we’ve become confused about what makes Christmas great, that it’s NOT the giving at all, but, in fact, it is the receiving, the receiving of a Lord and Savior who didn’t come just for the nice, but came especially for the naughty like you and me.

Today begins the season of Advent. Or, perhaps I should say, “Only four worshipping Sundays left before Christmas Day!” Jesus Christ is coming soon. He will come like a thief in the night. What better time than Christmas. No one would expect him then. Would you?

So if the time before Christmas is not about human things, buying gifts and partying, what is left? It is the same time as always: It is time to be alert. To be aware of how has Christ works in your life. How will He find you when He comes again? Now is the time to pray, that you may have the strength to escape all the traps of this season that might pull you away from Christ. Be on guard so that, four weeks from now, Christmas does not catch you by surprise. So that, come Christmas Day, you might have actually prepared more than the Ham, the gifts and the house for company, but you will have prepared yourself to hear the good news: Christmas is about giving, it’s just that YOU are the one who always receives the gift: Jesus Christ was born for you. Be alert: He will come again. Amen.