In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It is typical of Near-Eastern, and hence Old Testament,
thinking to view time as a cycle. Perhaps an image more familiar to many of us
is an extended slinky. Viewed from the top down, you see only a circle. From
the side, this circle becomes a continuous spiral. Having that picture in your
head, it is quite easy to apply to time. Seasons come and go, always in a
cycle. Months begin and then months end – another cycle. We gather every seven
days to celebrate the Lord’s Day. In the smallest sense, each day is its own
cycle. There is evening and there is morning, another day.
The Holy Spirit has used this cyclical nature of time throughout
the Scriptures to teach us concerning salvation. Aside from the repetition of
evening and morning in the days of creation, we are not given an indication of
when particular events occur until we hear that the Lord came walking in the
cool of the day.
The picture painted for us is of a cosmic day. Everything is
created through the Word of God in the beginning, that is, the beginning of the
cosmic day. It was then during the heat of the day that the serpent, the
Ancient Dragon, deceived Eve. The early to mid-afternoon is a particularly
vulnerable time for man. He has been tending the garden all day. It is now
halfway between lunch and supper. Stomachs begin to rumble, and it is time for
a snack.
It is also, as I said, the heat of the day. While the work of
Adam and Eve in the garden was no toil, it was still work. They did not ache
from their labors, but they certainly grew hungry. Perhaps they grew tired.
Whatever they were feeling, we can be relatively certain that Satan waited
until Adam and Eve were at their weakest before tempting them with the
forbidden fruit.
Such is the way with Satan and temptation. It makes little
sense to tempt the strong. That requires too much work. It is far more
opportune to attack the weak. Yet even Satan knows not to look at strength and
weakness through the eyes of man. The Pharisees would be seen by man to be
strong in faith, yet Satan knew the weakness of their hearts. He knew to tempt
them with power over their fellow man. The weakness of the Pharisees is the
desire to be like God, commanding men and receiving their worship. Such
weakness makes them vulnerable to the temptations of Satan.
Having fallen to temptation, Adam and Eve hide among the
trees and bushes as they fashion clothing for themselves. The sun begins to set,
and the day has become cool. It is then that God comes looking for His beloved
creation. The setting of the sun indicates darkness is creeping over the land. God
already knew what had happened, yet for love of man He called out that man
might return to the Lord, His God.
The cosmic day continues to turn toward evening as God pronounces judgment upon Satan, promising the day when the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent, and the serpent would strike His heel. He also curses woman with pain in childbearing and desire for the authority of her husband. The land is cursed because of the man, and he is cursed to labor and toil all the days of his life. He will laud his authority over woman and life in strife because of it. The day grows darker.
Yet even in this darkness, there is the light of promise.
There is the lamp of the promised Seed, God’s Anointed One, who at the fullness
of time would come to save the world. When Jesus is crucified, as He breathes
His last, the sky goes dark. This is often seen as creation itself mourning the
death of the Son of God. What’s more is that the cosmic day has reached the
darkest night. For those three days of rest for Christ in the tomb, the cosmic
day sat at midnight. The light of Christ had gone dark in a tomb of stone.
It is not until the first light on the third day that it is
revealed that death could not hold Him. Death could not restrain the Son of
God. No one lights a lamp to place it beneath a basket. A lamp is lit to be
held high, giving light to all who look upon it. Jesus Christ is the light of
the world and darkness cannot overcome Him. The darkest night and deepest tomb cannot
hold our God because He is the Almighty Word by which creation came into being.
By death, He defeated death. By submitting to the darkness of the tomb, He
conquered the night. By rising the third day, He has promised everlasting light
to all who receive Him, who believe in His name.
At the last, when Christ has returned to gather His faithful
as a hen gathers her flock, the heavens and the earth will be consumed by fire.
When all has been destroyed, a new creation will arise. This new creation will
have no need for sun, moon, or stars; no need for lights, lamps, and fire. The
Son of God, sitting on the throne, will be all the light we need. He will shine
in glory with the radiance glimpsed by Peter, James, and John on the Mount of
Transfiguration. In that day, the faithful will rejoice and sing in the
presence of Christ because we shall be like Him, sharing in His glory.
The resurrection of Christ on that first Easter morning was
the beginning of a new day. This is the new day of Christ’s church. What was
foretold to our fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has come to pass. A new
day has dawned. But this new day is not the final dawn. It is not the final
day. This new cosmic day is fast waning. We find ourselves already facing the
darkening night of the new day. In this sense, we must look to Christ both as
our Redeemer and as our example.
When I say example, I don’t mean that you, too, must be
crucified for the sins of the world. Nor by your obedience will you merit
eternal life for yourself or anyone else. What I mean is that we must take up
our cross and follow Him. We must see that on this side of glory, the life of the
Christian is to bear a cross. Suffering has been promised to us. Loss has been
promised to us.
Being children of Adam and Eve, death will come for us all,
so long as Christ waits to return. Death will come for us, and it is never
pleasant. We can fool ourselves into thinking that someone died peacefully in
her sleep, or that “that was the way he would’ve wanted to go,” but that is not
true. No one wants to go. No one wants to die. Death is terrifying because the
experience of death is the tearing apart of body and soul. Death comes for you
in the darkness of night.
Death is the outcome of the crosses we bear—our own death
and the death of loved ones. We ought to mourn Alan and all who have died in
Christ because death is painful. It is not good. But we should never mourn
without hope. We mourn with hope because we know that dawn is coming. Like the
wise virgins, we are prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom. We are prepared
the dawning of the final day.
Martha is prepared for the dawning of the final day. She is
confident that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into the
world.[1]
But Martha had also fallen asleep. Remember that in the parable of the ten
virgins, both the foolish and the wise fall asleep. All ten virgins fall
asleep when they are supposed to be watching for the Bridegroom.
Martha has likewise fallen asleep because in focusing on the
dawning of the final day, she has forgotten that the Christ, the Son of the
Living God is present with her right now. She is standing in His presence. The Resurrection
and the Life is standing before her in flesh. With man, it is impossible, but
with God, all things are possible.[2]
It is good, meet, and salutary to look forward to the
dawning of the final day, when you will be reunited in the flesh with your
father, husband, friend, and brother. That will be a glorious day. You will see
Alan’s face by the glorious light of Christ, a light that will never fail nor
falter. But do not forget to rejoice in the union you presently have with Alan.
You are a member of the Body of Christ. In Holy Baptism, you too were made a
member of the Body of Christ. You, Alan, and all the Baptized Saints of God are
gathered in the One Body of Christ.
Although there is presently a separation in time and space, there
is still unity in Jesus. He is the Resurrection and the Life, something both
you and Alan possess. This is especially true during the Divine Service. So
much of what we sing is borrowed from those portions of Scripture where visions
of the worship in heaven is recorded. We are singing the songs of the heavenly
host. We are singing the songs of angels and archangels and all the company of
heaven. We are singing them together. We never worship God alone for we are
members of His body.
Thus, we boldly confess with Martha that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of the Living God who has come into the world. We confess that
He is the Light of the world, the Light no darkness can overcome. We also
confess that this Light is present with us now. As the world turns toward
darkness, as suffering on this side of glory grips our hearts and wearies our
souls, we look to the coming of the dawn.
We look to the horizon and eagerly await the coming of the
Christ because we have His promise that He will come to gather us home. The
promise of the return of Christ is as sure and certain as the promise that He
would crush the head of the serpent. The certainty of this promise is written
in stone such that it is as good as though it had already happened. We can look
to the dawning of that first Easter morning to see what our own resurrection
will look like.
And since we know the end of the story, since we know the dawn of the final cosmic day will come, we can bear our crosses, endure suffering, mourn with hope, and travel this world of darkening night in joy. We can go about our days in peace and joy. We can remember Alan and all the departed saints in joy because we know they are not dead but living. We are in the near presence of Christ, and they are in His nearer presence. It is now evening and there will be morning, the final, glorious day.
In + Jesus’
name. Amen.
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