Sermon -Sunday December 3
Luke 21:25-36
Brothers and Sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus says "..raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." That is what this season of Advent, that we enter into today, is all about. It is about the drawing near of your redemption. Although, as strange as it may seem, I think sometimes the message of the coming of redemption gets lost in Advent, and not just in the crass commercialization that we see this time of year.
What I mean is that we forget that this season of Advent has a dual meaning. When someone says the word Advent, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?? Maybe it’s the lighting of the candles, or the stories of Joseph and Mary, or the shepherds or the wise men, or the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary. Those are all well and good, and they serve as wonderful reminders of the waiting that was done by the Hebrew people for the birth of the Messiah, but that remembrance is only one of the meanings of Advent.
Advent also serves as a reminder of the waiting that we as Christians experience today as we await Jesus’ promised return. Remembering the past is important, but we need to remember that this Advent season has a living word that speaks to us today, delivering us a promise of redemption that is at once, already attained for us on the cross, and still to come in the faithful promise of Jesus’ return, and it’s that advent that we live in everyday and not just the four weeks leading up to Christmas.
And we get a great taste of this living word that Advent has, in today’s Gospel lesson. In fact when you think of how we traditionally think of Advent as this time to remember the past, this morning’s Gospel lesson seems like an odd choice for the first day of Advent.
The lesson opens with Jesus speaking of a time when there will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars and there will be distress among nations confused by the roaring of the seas and the waves. That sounds a lot like what we see on the evening news today. Then Jesus says that people will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world. Jesus is talking about His return here, of His coming back with power and great glory.
But, in light of that, He’s talking about people being in fear and confusion. If Jesus’ promised return is something that gives us hope, then where is this fear and confusion coming from? Well, if you notice, as the conversation goes on, Jesus makes a transition from referring to "they" or "people" to referring to "you" which of course today includes you. And it’s when He makes that transition to referring to His disciples that He says "…your redemption is drawing near."
As a disciple of Jesus, for you, the day of Jesus’ return is something to look forward to. It is something that gives you hope in the midst of the advent that you live in every day as you live in your baptism. But there is also the reality that for some it will be a day of judgment. It is a judgment that you all deserve but by the grace of God through the waters of baptism you have been delivered from that judgment.
But some haven’t and some won’t. And while it is not up to you to decide who will and who won’t, the Holy Spirit uses those whom He has already called by the Gospel into faith in Christ Jesus to continue to reveal God’s kingdom to the world around us.
Jesus uses a parable about a fig-tree sprouting leaves and thus indicating that Summer is coming, as a parallel to the signs that will indicate that Jesus’ return is coming soon. Whether is indeed a strong indicator of the passing of time and when we are approaching certain seasons. I don’t think any of us here need to be told that winter is coming soon after the whether that we have had this week.
And, Jesus does seem to be trying to set a tone of seeing and believing. And with something like the weather, seeing generally does translate into believing. For example, maybe you have trouble believing the weatherman on the news when he tells you that it is likely to snow the next day. But when you wake up and see your lawn covered in snow, you realize he was right. You believe what he said.
But when it comes to signs of God’s kingdom, seeing doesn’t necessarily always translate into believing. The kingdom of God is revealed not only through the signs that Jesus is referring to in today’s lesson but also through signs that reveal themselves on a daily basis. I am referring here to the revealing of the kingdom of God that takes place through God’s people. When you proclaim the good news of Christ Jesus to your neighbor, when you share the love of Christ with your neighbor, God’s kingdom is revealing itself to your neighbor through you.
Of course that does not mean that people are always going to believe, or recognize, those signs of God’s kingdom. Whether we are talking about the dramatic events such as the distress among the nations or the roaring of the seas and the waves that Jesus refers to in today’s Gospel lesson, or the everyday events of you sharing the love of Christ and proclaiming the Gospel with your neighbor, we all see the signs of the coming of God’s kingdom. But we don’t all come to the same understanding of these signs.
Some people react to the signs with great fear, some people might react to the signs with denial and rejection. But the only reaction that provides eternal hope and comfort as we live in the daily advent of waiting for Jesus’ return is faith. And it’s not a faith that comes from within you, but one that you are called to through the Gospel.
Some people will see the signs and they will continue to look within themselves for the proper reaction, and that can only lead to fear and rejection. But that doesn’t mean you stop being a sign of God’s kingdom to them. That doesn’t mean that our Lord does not have a place for them in His kingdom. The eternal destiny of your neighbor is not for you to decide.
To roughly paraphrase one of my favorite theologians, "If someone is within earshot of your proclamation of the Gospel, the only proper assumption for a citizen of God’s eternal kingdom, is to assume that God also has a place reserved for that person in His eternal Kingdom and that you have been placed in that person’s life to be a sign of God’s eternal Kingdom."
The kingdom of God, simply put, is a place where God rules as king. That kingdom has arrived and, God rules in the form of His Son who arrived as a baby in a manger, and who would grow to die a criminal’s death on the cross where He took your sin, and your sin died with Him. And three days later, He was resurrected and sin, death and the devil were defeated for you, and in exchange for your sin, He gave you righteousness and new life.
The coming of God’s kingdom means a release for all of God’s people from bondage to the competing forces of sin, death, and the devil. That is the kingdom that you have been brought into through the waters of baptism. The Holy Spirit, through the Gospel has called you into faith and you have seen the signs of God’s kingdom and by the grace of God, you recognize these signs for what they are.
Sin, death, and the devil have been defeated and you have been freed from their clutches. But they have not been eliminated. That day is still to come. That comes at the complete fulfillment of God’s kingdom when Jesus returns. And our Lord has promised through faith, that you will recognize the signs and the complete fulfillment of your redemption on that day.
In the meantime, as you live in the daily advent of waiting for that day, you are called not only to look up to see the signs of God’s kingdom that Jesus has promised you will recognize, but perhaps more importantly you are called to be a sign of God’s kingdom to your neighbor.
Amen
Brothers and Sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus says "..raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." That is what this season of Advent, that we enter into today, is all about. It is about the drawing near of your redemption. Although, as strange as it may seem, I think sometimes the message of the coming of redemption gets lost in Advent, and not just in the crass commercialization that we see this time of year.
What I mean is that we forget that this season of Advent has a dual meaning. When someone says the word Advent, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?? Maybe it’s the lighting of the candles, or the stories of Joseph and Mary, or the shepherds or the wise men, or the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary. Those are all well and good, and they serve as wonderful reminders of the waiting that was done by the Hebrew people for the birth of the Messiah, but that remembrance is only one of the meanings of Advent.
Advent also serves as a reminder of the waiting that we as Christians experience today as we await Jesus’ promised return. Remembering the past is important, but we need to remember that this Advent season has a living word that speaks to us today, delivering us a promise of redemption that is at once, already attained for us on the cross, and still to come in the faithful promise of Jesus’ return, and it’s that advent that we live in everyday and not just the four weeks leading up to Christmas.
And we get a great taste of this living word that Advent has, in today’s Gospel lesson. In fact when you think of how we traditionally think of Advent as this time to remember the past, this morning’s Gospel lesson seems like an odd choice for the first day of Advent.
The lesson opens with Jesus speaking of a time when there will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars and there will be distress among nations confused by the roaring of the seas and the waves. That sounds a lot like what we see on the evening news today. Then Jesus says that people will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world. Jesus is talking about His return here, of His coming back with power and great glory.
But, in light of that, He’s talking about people being in fear and confusion. If Jesus’ promised return is something that gives us hope, then where is this fear and confusion coming from? Well, if you notice, as the conversation goes on, Jesus makes a transition from referring to "they" or "people" to referring to "you" which of course today includes you. And it’s when He makes that transition to referring to His disciples that He says "…your redemption is drawing near."
As a disciple of Jesus, for you, the day of Jesus’ return is something to look forward to. It is something that gives you hope in the midst of the advent that you live in every day as you live in your baptism. But there is also the reality that for some it will be a day of judgment. It is a judgment that you all deserve but by the grace of God through the waters of baptism you have been delivered from that judgment.
But some haven’t and some won’t. And while it is not up to you to decide who will and who won’t, the Holy Spirit uses those whom He has already called by the Gospel into faith in Christ Jesus to continue to reveal God’s kingdom to the world around us.
Jesus uses a parable about a fig-tree sprouting leaves and thus indicating that Summer is coming, as a parallel to the signs that will indicate that Jesus’ return is coming soon. Whether is indeed a strong indicator of the passing of time and when we are approaching certain seasons. I don’t think any of us here need to be told that winter is coming soon after the whether that we have had this week.
And, Jesus does seem to be trying to set a tone of seeing and believing. And with something like the weather, seeing generally does translate into believing. For example, maybe you have trouble believing the weatherman on the news when he tells you that it is likely to snow the next day. But when you wake up and see your lawn covered in snow, you realize he was right. You believe what he said.
But when it comes to signs of God’s kingdom, seeing doesn’t necessarily always translate into believing. The kingdom of God is revealed not only through the signs that Jesus is referring to in today’s lesson but also through signs that reveal themselves on a daily basis. I am referring here to the revealing of the kingdom of God that takes place through God’s people. When you proclaim the good news of Christ Jesus to your neighbor, when you share the love of Christ with your neighbor, God’s kingdom is revealing itself to your neighbor through you.
Of course that does not mean that people are always going to believe, or recognize, those signs of God’s kingdom. Whether we are talking about the dramatic events such as the distress among the nations or the roaring of the seas and the waves that Jesus refers to in today’s Gospel lesson, or the everyday events of you sharing the love of Christ and proclaiming the Gospel with your neighbor, we all see the signs of the coming of God’s kingdom. But we don’t all come to the same understanding of these signs.
Some people react to the signs with great fear, some people might react to the signs with denial and rejection. But the only reaction that provides eternal hope and comfort as we live in the daily advent of waiting for Jesus’ return is faith. And it’s not a faith that comes from within you, but one that you are called to through the Gospel.
Some people will see the signs and they will continue to look within themselves for the proper reaction, and that can only lead to fear and rejection. But that doesn’t mean you stop being a sign of God’s kingdom to them. That doesn’t mean that our Lord does not have a place for them in His kingdom. The eternal destiny of your neighbor is not for you to decide.
To roughly paraphrase one of my favorite theologians, "If someone is within earshot of your proclamation of the Gospel, the only proper assumption for a citizen of God’s eternal kingdom, is to assume that God also has a place reserved for that person in His eternal Kingdom and that you have been placed in that person’s life to be a sign of God’s eternal Kingdom."
The kingdom of God, simply put, is a place where God rules as king. That kingdom has arrived and, God rules in the form of His Son who arrived as a baby in a manger, and who would grow to die a criminal’s death on the cross where He took your sin, and your sin died with Him. And three days later, He was resurrected and sin, death and the devil were defeated for you, and in exchange for your sin, He gave you righteousness and new life.
The coming of God’s kingdom means a release for all of God’s people from bondage to the competing forces of sin, death, and the devil. That is the kingdom that you have been brought into through the waters of baptism. The Holy Spirit, through the Gospel has called you into faith and you have seen the signs of God’s kingdom and by the grace of God, you recognize these signs for what they are.
Sin, death, and the devil have been defeated and you have been freed from their clutches. But they have not been eliminated. That day is still to come. That comes at the complete fulfillment of God’s kingdom when Jesus returns. And our Lord has promised through faith, that you will recognize the signs and the complete fulfillment of your redemption on that day.
In the meantime, as you live in the daily advent of waiting for that day, you are called not only to look up to see the signs of God’s kingdom that Jesus has promised you will recognize, but perhaps more importantly you are called to be a sign of God’s kingdom to your neighbor.
Amen
posted by Steve at 7:58 PM
1 Comments:
I like what you did with the sermon from the text. You got caught up in the middle section explaining everything a bit too much-it could have been done quicker and better. But you really did a great job wrapping it all up-you did it to them!!
Who was that favorite theologian?
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