Advent
2
Lk
21:25-36
12/8/24
On
Monday, April 8 this year, thousands of people descended on our area. People drove in from other states – from as
far away as Iowa – in order to be here in our location. Lutherans were contacting Good Shepherd to
see if they could come and set up in our parking lot.
The
reason for the attention was that we were right in the path of the total solar
eclipse that was going to take place.
People wanted to experience this unique event and they were willing to travel
in order to be here.
While
the total solar eclipse was impressive as it looked like dusk in the middle of
the day – there was nothing surprising about it. We knew exactly what day it would happen. We
knew what time it would happen. And so,
people were prepared. They set up to
watch it – some with special telescopes to get a better look and take
pictures. They had their special
sunglasses. Amy and I put our lawn
chairs in the backyard and sat there in order to take it in.
In
the Gospel lesson this morning, Jesus talks about cosmic signs in the sun,
moon, and stars. But unlike the total
solar eclipse that we experienced, these events will be completely
unexpected. Rather than being
something enjoyed, they will be a cause of fear. They will announce the arrival of the Last
Day as Jesus Christ returns in glory.
Our
text takes place during Holy Week. Some
present with Jesus were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble
stones and offerings. The temple built
by Herod the Great was one of the wonders of the ancient world. However, our
Lord responded, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when
there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown
down.”
The
disciples wanted more information about this dramatic assertion. Jesus said that false prophets would come in
his name. They would hear about wars.
There would be earthquakes and famines. The disciples would bear witness to
Jesus and would experience persecution. He said, “You will be delivered
up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some
of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake.”
These
things would take place in the time leading up to destruction. However, the
sign of Jerusalem’s destruction would be very clear. Jesus said, “But when you see Jerusalem
surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.” Armies would surround Jerusalem in order to
lay siege to it, and that would be the sign that the temple was about to be
destroyed.
Jesus gave instructions to his
followers about what they should do when this occurred. He said, “Then let those who are in Judea
flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let
not those who are out in the country enter it.”
The destruction of the temple, like
the destruction of the first temple in 587 B.C., was an event that could be
described as the day of the Lord. It was
a dramatic action of judgment by God.
But it did not stand on its own.
Instead, each of these actions pointed to the great and final day of the
Lord. And so Jesus’ description of the destruction of the temple leads him to
talk about the events of the Last Day when he will return in glory.
Jesus says in our text, “And there
will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of
nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people
fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world.
For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Our Lord describes a scene of cosmic
distress. These will not be expected events.
Instead, they will be sudden, unexplainable, and frightening.
These cosmic events will be the
prelude that announces the Last Day.
Jesus says, “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a
cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take
place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is
drawing near.” Our Lord tells us that he
will return in power and glory. All will be confronted by the risen and exalted
Lord. Yet Jesus says that those who
believe in him should welcome this event because it is the arrival of
redemption.
We are in the season of Advent. The name Advent is based on a Latin word that
means “arrival” or “coming.” During
Advent we are preparing to celebrate the first coming of the Son of God as he
entered into our world.
At Christmas we will celebrate a
humble scene. The virgin teenager Mary
will give birth to a baby. She will wrap
the child in swaddling clothes and lay him in a manger – in an animal feeding
trough – because she and Joseph are away from home and have not been able to
find lodging. The baby will spend his
first night where animals are kept.
In the humility of it all we find
the greatest paradox. The baby is a human being, born of a mother as we all
are. But he has been born to a virgin
because the Holy Spirit has caused the conception. As Gabriel told Mary, “The
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will
overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be
called holy--the Son of God.”
The baby in the manger is the Son of
God. As Paul told the Colossians, “For in
him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” The infant is the Creator
of the universe. The apostle said, “For
by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all
things were created through him and for him.”
This humility – this paradox – is
just the beginning. As the Son of God, Jesus Christ had no sin. He lived perfectly as he carried out the
Father’s will. But at his baptism he submitted himself to a baptism of
repentance. There he was designated as
the Servant of the Lord – the suffering Servant who bears our sins.
The humility became humiliation as
Jesus Christ was crucified. In weakness
and shame he was mocked by those below. But in this humiliation we find the
paradox of God providing forgiveness for us.
Paul told the Corinthians, “For our sake he made him to be sin who
knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” By
his suffering and death Jesus redeemed us – he freed us from sin.
There did not appear to be any
paradox as the tortured, dead body of Jesus was taken down from the cross and
placed in a tomb. Instead, it looked
like God had been completely absent. But
on Easter, God raised Jesus from the dead.
By this action God demonstrated that he had been powerfully at work in
the cross of Christ to give us forgiveness.
And in Jesus’ resurrection, God was at work to defeat death and begin
the resurrection life that will be ours.
The risen Lord was with his
disciples for forty days. He left no
doubt about his resurrection as he ate and drank with the disciples, and taught
them. He created new disciples as he
appeared to James and the other brothers of the Lord who had not believed in
Jesus during his ministry. And then he was exalted to the right hand of God as
he ascended into heaven. On Pentecost
the exalted Lord poured forth the Holy Spirit on the Church.
Today, the Spirit brings God’s
saving reign to us through the Means of Grace.
Through the Word of Scripture, and the visible Word of the Sacraments,
the Spirit delivers the forgiveness that Jesus has won for us. He nourishes and strengthens us as we walk by
faith.
But the season of Advent places more
before us than a preparation to celebrate Jesus’ birth. It reminds us that the Son of God who came
into the world once, will arrive a second time. It focuses our attention on the second coming
of Jesus Christ when he returns on the Last Day.
The contrast between the Lord’s
first and second coming could not be more stark. At Christmas he was a helpless baby in
manger, and no one except for some shepherds knew he was there. But on the Last Day he will be the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory. His arrival will be announced by cosmic signs
that will shake creation. All of
humanity will be confronted by the
exalted Lord as they must appear before his judgment seat.
For now, we walk by faith and not be
sight. We do not know when Christ will return.
But in our text, Jesus provides instruction for how we need to
live. He says, “But watch
yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and
drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you
suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of
the whole earth.”
Jesus warns us against having our
hearts weighed down by the cares of this life.
He spoke in similar words when he explained the parable of the sower by
saying: “And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear,
but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches
and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.”
The greatest threat to faith is not
some existential crisis about the truth of the Christian faith. Instead, the greatest threat comes from the
many things of this world that draw away our attention from Christ. We live in a secular world – one that has no
place for Christ and does not care about him.
When we allow our interests and
thought to be shaped by this world we are on our way to losing Christ. Most often people don’t reject the faith.
Instead, they just drift away from Christ as they are carried along by
the world’s attitude about sports, hobbies, sex, wealth, entertainment – about
the cares and riches and pleasures of life.
Our Lord Jesus warns against
this. He says that we must be alert to
the threat. Instead, we need to be
focused on Christ and his Means of Grace.
We need his Word to be present in our life during the week. We need that Word to guide our thought about
what is right and what is wrong; about what is important and what is not. We need to spend time with other Christians
as we help one another to keep our focus on Christ and his will for life.
Advent tells us that the Christ who came into our world once, will come again. And in this, we find encouragement and hope. The risen and ascended Lord who has won salvation for us will return in glory. He will vindicate his people. Those who believed in Christ will know the joy of living with God forever. Those who rejected Christ or who drifted away from him will learn how terribly wrong they have been as they are consigned to hell.
Jesus tells us that his return on
the Last Day will be an awesome sight.
It will instill fear in those who have not believed in Christ. But for
those of us who believed in the risen Lord – who have prayed for his return –
it will be a joyful sight. As Jesus says
in our text, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up
and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
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