Populus Zion (Advent 2)

Populus Zion – December 7, 2025

Psalm 80; Malachi 4:1-6; Romans 15:4-13

St. Luke 21:25-36

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The word “advent” means “coming.” Now the world treats this time as the “Christmas season,” by shopping for Christmas presents, holding Christmas parties, decorating houses, and making travel plans for the Christmas break from school and work. There is nothing wrong with participating in these things. We do live in the world even if we are not of the world. Yet the temptation is to become wrapped up in these activities of the world and to forget the purpose of the season of Advent.

Like the world, Christians use the time of Advent for preparation, but the way in which Christians prepare and the occasion Christians are preparing for are quite distinct from that of the world. During Advent, we reflect, contemplate, and prepare for the three ways in which Christ comes. First, He came in the flesh, born of the Virgin Mary. The eternal Son of God descended into the flesh of man, sharing in our humanity that we might receive His eternity. Second, He comes to us today, through the reading, preaching, and meditating on His Word. He also comes to us bodily in His Holy Sacrament. He comes in the mutual consolation of our Christian brothers and sisters, as they share with us His Holy Word. Finally, we look forward to His final coming, when Christ will reveal Himself to the nations, make His final judgment, and receive all who believe and are baptized into His loving arms for all eternity.

It is this final coming of Christ that Christ speaks of this morning in the Gospel and for which He bids us to prepare. While the world is preparing to celebrate family time at Christmas by buying presents, preparing meals, and making travel plans, the Church prepares to receive her King in the same way she has always prepared herself for God: by repentance.

When I speak of repentance, I don’t just mean reciting the words of the general confession once a week, “I, a poor miserable sinner…” though that is a good start. I mean taking a serious reflection of your heart, actions, mind, and soul. Consider your station in life according to the Ten Commandments, whether you are a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker; whether you have been disobedient, unfaithful, slothful; whether you have grieved any person by word or deed; whether you have stolen, neglected, or wasted anything, or done other injury.[1] Have you placed your fear, love, and trust in God above all things or have you feared the opinions of people or the economy more than trusting that God loves you and will provide?

Our age is filled both with security in material goods and anxiety over every aspect of life. On the one hand, we look to our stuff to feel secure and happy while constantly worrying about the opinions of others, how we measure up to their expectations. This security and anxiety are both misguided because they entirely remove God from the equation. Our security is in Him, who created and sustains all things in the universe. Our anxiety only runs skin deep, though we feel it deep in our soul. This anxiety forgets that the same God who created and sustains the universe also descended into our flesh for the very purpose of taking our cares, anxieties, and most importantly our sins, upon Himself and crucifying them. He bore your sins into death so that they would remain in the grave forever.

Both the security and anxiety of our age is also misguided because it fails to reach into the root of the problem: our sinful state. The problem is not that we don’t have enough to be secure or that we feel bad about ourselves. The problem is that these are sins against the Almighty God. They are the actions of sinners who have forgotten what the Lord has commanded. Only by a serious contemplation of the Word of God can sin be revealed. “I would not have known sin except through the law…The law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.”[2]

And yet there is a second part of repentance. Repentance is first contrition, that is, sorrow over our sin which has been brought about by the contemplation of God’s holy, just, and good law. The second part is faith; faith which clings to the promise of God that Christ has died for your sin and rose for your justification. If it were not for faith clinging to God’s promise of forgiveness, it would be unthinkable to consider your sins. It would be so overwhelming because it is obvious to anyone that they are unworthy of God. A moment of reflection over the state of your soul would either cause you to turn immediately away from God and cling to your sin in pride or fall into such despair that you would beg for death.

And yet knowledge of the promise of forgiveness makes considering your sin bearable. It becomes bearable because the Word of God has revealed that His great love caused His incarnation. His great love caused the Father to accept the sacrifice of His only-begotten Son on your behalf. His great love washed you in the waters of Holy Baptism, not only cleansing you from sin but making you a child of the Heavenly Father. And just as a child desires nothing more than to make his father proud, so too such great love of God moves your soul to desire to make God proud. It causes you to desire to be free from sin and conform to God’s holy Law.

This is what makes the Christian’s Advent preparations different from that of the world’s. When the nations see signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, they tremble with fear because they are perplexed. A sense of foreboding dread sweeps over the nations for fear of what is coming upon the world. Yet the Church sees these signs and knows that her King is coming soon. We prepare (through repentance and faith) with great joy, straightening up and lifting our heads to see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. The distress of nations is for us a sign that the end is near and we know what will happen at the end. Christ will come and gather us to Himself.

Thus He bids us to watch ourselves so that we are not weighed down with despair, drunkenness, and the cares of this life. Rather, we stay vigilant and pray that we be kept in this true faith until either we die or Christ returns, whichever should come first.

I stand before you today for the first time, charged with bringing you the whole counsel of God. The Lord has seen fit to call this sinner to serve Him in this place and at this time. I have taken vows to be faithful to the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions, which means that it is my sacred duty to stand in the stead and by the command of my Lord, Jesus Christ, delivering to you His Holy Word and Sacraments. When Christ returns on that final day, I will stand before Him and be held accountable for my ministry to your souls. If I profane the Word of God, if I cause one of you little ones to fall away from the faith because I pervert the things of God, then I will be judged guilty and spend eternity in hell.

It is my sacred duty to pray for you and with you. It is my duty to love you as Christ loves this church. It is my duty to weep over your sins, even as I call you to account for them. Know that it is not my sacred duty to be nice. Certainly to extend Christian love and fellowship, bearing with you in all things, but there is no obligation to be “nice” simply to please men. This is a hard teaching, but it is true. I am obligated to hold you accountable to the Word of God just as you must hold me accountable to it.

Scripture calls all Christians to pray for their leaders, including their pastors. God expects you to pray for me and to pray for my family. It is also expected that you will bear with me in all things, honor the office to which I’ve been called, uphold my reputation - not hearing any accusation from others in idle gossip, and listening intently to the Word of God. You have also promised to aid me as I care for my family and to be diligent to “put the best construction on everything,” recognizing that “love covers a multitude of sins.” I expect you to hold me accountable to the Word of God and if I should sin against you, I expect you to call me to repentance.

Our Lord has promised that though heaven and earth will pass away, His Word will never pass away.[3] The time is already growing late. It has been 2,000 years since our Lord spoke these words. Though it is cold outside and the calendar shows it is winter, in the broad view of time, the trees are coming out in leaf and the end of time draws near. Together, we hope and pray that the Lord will grant a bountiful harvest in this congregation, that He will bless us with new children to baptize, adults to instruct, and families to bring into our fold. Yet it is the Lord who gives growth. It is also at the Lord’s discretion that congregations shrink. We do not measure the success of the Church in man’s terms. We measure the success of the Church in faithfulness to the Scriptures, trusting that God knows better than we do how to manage His own household.

So together, we must stay awake at all times, praying that we may have strength to escape the temptations of the world and to stand before the Son of Man in humility and faith. Together, we must devote ourselves to the things of God, to His Word and Holy Sacraments. Together, we must show ourselves to bear the Light of Christ into the world, that not by our efforts, but by the very Word of God, the world would be brought to Christ. You and I bear the priceless treasure of Jesus Christ. Let us not bear it in vain, but in boldness of faith. Let us prepare for the return of Christ in humble repentance, never forgetting that He came in our flesh to die for our sins and still comes to us today, wrapped in water, bread, wine, and His Holy Word.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Small Catechism, Confession VI.

[2] Romans 7:7; 12.

[3] St. Luke 21:33.

Populus Zion (Advent 2)

 Populus Zion (Advent 2) – December 8, 2024

Psalm 80; Malachi 4:1-6; Romans 15:4-13

St. Luke 21:25-36

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, makes a vow to mankind this morning. He says, “Amen, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”^[1]

The first part of this vow requires an understanding of the word “generation.” I can think of three ways to understand “generation,” and each is closely related to the others, but it is helpful to distinguish them. The first and common understanding of “generation” refers to the group of people born during a certain time. We might think of the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, Zoomers, or Gen Alpha. The bible uses the term this way whenever there is a list of generations or a genealogy. Applied to the vow of our Lord, this understanding of generation would severely limit His words and possibly invalidate them. It would mean that all the signs of the end times, including the return of Christ, would have been fulfilled by the death of the Apostles.

“Generation” can also refer to a set time period that is much broader than all those who live and die within a few years of each other. In this second case, it would have a sense like an “age,” a long timeframe that has distinct characteristics that set it apart from other generations. Examples would be the age of the Roman Republic, the age of the Roman Empire, the Gothic Era, the Age of Discovery, the Industrial Revolution, or the Digital Age. There are distinct characteristics that set each apart and everyone who lived during those times shared a basic way of life.

When applied to the life of the Church, we can see how this type of generation is appropriate. The Ante-Diluvian generation, that which existed after the Fall but before the Flood, was significantly different from the generation after the Flood. Those who lived in the time of the Judges experienced a very different life from those who lived under the kings – first the united monarchy and then the Divided kingdom. Again, the age of the Apostles was very different from that of Moses, David, the Early Church, the Medieval Age, the Reformation, or today.

The third understanding of a “generation” has less to do with how you define one generation against another but where that generation comes from. We call genealogies “generations” because fathers generate sons. The word relates to the origin of something and overlaps with the previous two definitions. Whether we think of generations by relative birth timing or of sweeping ages, they receive their distinction because of their origin. Baby boomers are so called because their origin is in the baby boom following World War II. Millennials are so called because their origin is just prior to the turning of the millennium, and they will spend their adult lives entirely in the new millennium. The Industrial Revolution began with steam and water powered mechanization. The dawning of a new generation in this sense begins with a significant change in origin.

Theologically, we can see developments across the generations of God’s people. Adam and Eve were created in the Image of God, perfectly understanding and conforming to God’s will.[2] But after the Fall, this relationship changed.[3] Man distanced himself from God and yet the promise of the Seed endured.

At the time of Noah, all the imaginations of the heart of man were evil.[4] All but Noah, his wife, their sons and their wives and entirely cut themselves off from God. For this reason, God destroyed the unbelieving world in the Flood, but saved Noah and his faithful family. So that these would not despair, God placed His rainbow in the clouds.[5] This signified that His promise of the coming Seed of Eve, the Savior, still endured.

Through Moses, God delivered the Holy Law.[6] God was establishing His people as a nation and made sure this new nation was established on His, unchanging Word. His people were to be the keepers of His Holy Word, that the promise of the coming Seed, the Savior, would endure throughout the generations, right down to a lowly virgin, a daughter of David.

By that time, the time of Blessed Mary and John the Baptist, the nation had been taken away into exile and was never reconstituted, at least not how it was before God sent it away into exile. Sure, it was independent for a short time but soon the Greeks, then the Romans, once again conquered the Holy Land. By the time of the birth of Christ, the Church was but a beggar on the earth, looking for her Savior.

Throughout these generations, man’s relationship toward God changed and developed but God’s relationship to man did not change. Even at the height of the Israelite nation, under King David, when the sacrifices were offered daily and faithfully, God desired not the blood of bulls and goats. He desired a pure and contrite heart.[7] The angels in heaven rejoiced over the repentance of one sinner in the days of David just as they do in the days of John, Luther, and today.

And yet, we do live in a generation distinct from Noah, Moses, and David. We belong to the generation of the Church, begun on this side of the Resurrection of Christ, born from the pierced side of the Crucified Christ and baptized when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles at Pentecost.[8] God’s Word has not changed. The promise of the Seed is for you just as it was for Adam and Eve. The only difference is that we know the name of the Seed. We have heard and read of His death for the forgiveness of sins and we look not to His coming in humility, but His coming in glory on the Last Day.

In this sense, we are living in the same generation as the Apostles. Our way of life may look very different from that of the Apostles, but our life of faith is unchanged—or at least should be. This, I believe, is the simplest understanding of the vow of Christ. This generation of the Church, the coming of Christ in Word and Sacrament without the works of the Law, will not pass away until He returns in power and glory.

Our generation is not separated from the generations prior to the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ but it is distinct. We are not waiting a further development in our relationship toward God. We are not looking for a return to a geographic location, our promised inheritance. The promise of the Seed has been fulfilled and we await its consummation. This is the promise Christ is making: “My word will never pass away. Everything in heaven and earth will change but My word will not. Gunpowder will change the nature of war, but wars will not cease. Kingdoms will become Empires and Empires will become Republics, and Republics will fall but My Word will endure forever.”

Because of this vow of Christ, we shouldn’t be surprised to see wars and rumors of wars. Nor should we be surprised by signs in the heavens—be they shooting stars, narrow misses by comets, or other celestial phenomena. It is for the pagan and the unbelieving world to see these things and be distressed in their hearts. But for the Christian, He says that when you see these things, these signs, “look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”^[9]

Christ gives you these signs that you might look up in joy to see Christ returning.[10] You look with joy for the return of Christ because it is the fulfilling of your hope, the fruition of your faith. It is also the manifestation of your deliverance from sin, death, and the devil. You look with joy for the return of Christ just as the bride looks with great joy upon her beloved leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills.^[11]

At the same time, Christ admonishes you to pray that you would be counted worthy to escape all these terrible signs. That means Jesus recognizes the suffering that comes with the sea and waves roaring, the powers of the heavens being shaken, and the distress of nations. This suffering isn’t reserved only for the unbeliever. “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.”^[12] It is not a contradiction for God to command excitement and joy in the midst of suffering, especially when talking about the last things and the return of Christ.

Understanding that the generation that will not pass away is the generation, or age, of the Church, Christ gives us a warning. Pay attention to yourself that you won’t be weighed down by frivolous living, sins of the flesh, or the cares of this world. He literally says, “carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life,”^[13] but these can easily stand in for three categories—living for pleasure, indulging in sin, and concern for this life.

Living for pleasure does not need to be overtly sinful living. That is covered by drunkenness. Carousing is “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” It is the extreme understanding of living for today with no care for tomorrow; no mind for the consequences. The soccer mom who makes sure her kids are well fed and educated, preparing them for a long career and good retirement is doing nothing more than carousing if she isn’t raising her children in the fear and love of the Lord. Not only is she condemning herself by giving no heed to Christ, but she is also endangering her children by not teaching them to place Christ above all other things. Knowing the catechism is more important than going to college. Receiving the Lord’s Supper is more important than being on a sports team—any sports team.

Drunkenness is the category of indulging in sin. This is the obvious, manifest, and outward sinning from which we not only flee but from which we are able to abstain. Do not cheat your neighbor. Do not look at pornography. Do not waste your life in greed. Do not waste your twenties so you can rebuild in your thirties. These things destroy your soul. They will rot you from the inside out.

The third category – the cares of this life – is uniquely a warning to Christians. It is not to say, “Ignore paying your bills or mowing the lawn.” Rather, do not be weighed down with these things as though they matter in eternity. Are you sick? Will you lose a limb or your eyesight? You should be concerned, and you should carefully consider what types of medical intervention you receive or refuse. But even in such difficult matters, there is no need to be weighed down.

Our current age is incredibly weak compared to our fathers. We get sad and call it depression. We get nervous and call it anxiety. Have trouble focusing? You must have ADHD. You might even be on the spectrum. Sure, there are cases where real medical intervention might be necessary for these things, but there is also a reality that sometimes people get sad. Sometimes people get nervous. But then you get over it. How has the church usually taught her people to deal with these problems? Through prayer and fasting. Through repentance. Through confession and absolution.

Our Lord’s purpose in giving us this warning is so that we would not be weighed down such that we miss the substance of His promise and His return. Christ’s return will come a snare on everyone, that is, it will happen in the blink of an eye. What will you be doing when it happens? Don’t be weighed down, face toward your naval, curved inward in carousing, drunkenness, or the cares of this life. Instead, see in these signs the occasion to lift up your head and look for the coming of Christ, rejoicing that your Redeemer is near.

Our Lord’s vow concludes with a commandment. He tells you to “watch and pray always.”^[14] For what shall you pray? First, that God would have mercy on you by allowing you to escape the worst of the events of the end of time. Second, that when Christ returns, you would be able to stand before Him, that is, that you would be sustained in the faith delivered to you by the Holy Spirit to stand before Christ in the gleaming robe of your Holy Baptism, unstained by sin.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. Luke 21:32-33.

[2] Genesis 1:26.

[3] Genesis 3:14-19.

[4] Genesis 6:5.

[5] Genesis 9:12-17.

[6] Exodus 20.

[7] Psalm 51:16-17.

[8] St. John 19:34-35; Acts 2:1-4.

[9] St. Luke 21:28.

[10] Psalm 24:7.

[11] Song of Songs 2:8b

[12] St. Matthew 24:19-20.

[13] St. Luke 21:34.

[14] St. Luke 21:36.

Septuagesima

Septuagesima – February 5, 2023

Psalm 18; Daniel 9:2-10; 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:4

St. Matthew 20:1-16

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Lord compares the Kingdom of God to a man, a vineyard owner, who calls laborers to work in his vineyard. This landowner negotiates with the earliest workers for a settled wage and sends them into the vineyard. Every few hours, he returns to the market and finds more workers who are standing idle. He commands them to work in the vineyard and he promises to pay them whatever is right. In the last hour of the day, he finds more workers who have spent the day standing in the market. These lazy ones are also commanded to come into the vineyard and promised a right wage.

At the end of the day, the landowner commands his steward to line up the workers, from last to first, and pay their wages. Everyone receives the same wage—a denarius, one full day’s wage. Those who worked the longest, endured the most labor, the harshest heat, and put in the most effort—those who were called at the first hour—are indignant. They are angry because those the lazy bums who barely worked got paid the same as them. The landowner reminds these ungrateful laborers that they were paid precisely according to their agreement and then he casts them out of the vineyard.

The call of the laborers is the call into the church purely by grace. From the first to the last, not a single worker presented a resumé or portfolio. They were called by the master into the vineyard and given duties to attend to. They are set to work caring for all that belongs to the master.

The landowner in the parable is our Lord, Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God is compared to a man and all that is spoken of in the parable belongs to him. Jesus is the only man who is also God. He holds all of creation in His hands.

The laborers who are called into the vineyard are Christians. They have been called by the Gospel to dwell in the vineyard of Christ. In the vineyard, they are set to caring for God’s creation and are sustained by the same. Each is given duties and not all have the same responsibilities. At the same time, none is given possession of the vineyard. The vineyard belongs to the Master, to Christ, to God.

The steward in the parable is the pastor of Christ’s church. He is set in authority over the people of God to guide them, teach them, rebuke them, exhort them, warn them of danger, and console them with the gifts of God.[1] The vineyard does not belong to the steward any more than it belongs to the laborers. However, the steward has been set in authority over the laborers for the sake of good order and as the steward of God’s word and watchmen of God’s people.[2]

In plain language, the church as an abstract concept, that is, the body of believers, does not belong to Christians. The local church also does not belong to Christians. The abstract church and the local church do not belong to pastors. In every sense, the Church belongs to God alone. Christians are called to dwell in the Church; to serve in the Church; to gather in the Church; and to be sustained by the Church. Pastors are called to the same but we are also called to steward the Church of God; to manage the affairs of the Church; to lead the flock on behalf of the Good Shepherd; to be a watchman concerning the dangers of the world and the sins of the congregation.

Whether clergy or laity, we do not enter the vineyard by our own reason or strength. No one can think his way into the church nor work his way in. Only the call of the Holy Gospel, that is, the death of Jesus Christ as delivered in the Word of God and His Holy Sacraments, can draw us into the Church. Christ our Lord calls you through His word, by the working of the Holy Spirit. You are called to dwell in the vineyard forever yet you are not idle in this dwelling. You are called to serve.

Some are called early in the morning, those who were born into Christian households. These have the longest service in the vineyard. They can work the longest, do the most work, and also endure the most suffering on behalf of Christ.

There are those who are called at midday. They are called by the Gospel in the middle of life. They are given the same work as those called in the morning and set about their task in the same way.

Then there are those who are called at the end of life. They have little time left in the Church Militant, but they receive the same reward as those called in the morning. They are the first to see Christ in glory, that is, they are the first to die, but their reward of eternal life is just as wonderful.

This reward of eternal life is the same whether you are called into the church in the wee hours of the morning or at the eleventh hour. There is no privilege in the Kingdom of God given to those who have spent 70 years in the Lutheran Church over those who are new converts. At the end of the day, all receive the same reward. The teachings and practices of the Church are governed not by experience or longevity, but by the Word of God.

And this is exactly what angers the laborers called in the morning. They’ve been here longer, worked harder, and endured more. In exchange for this, they believe they are due more reward, more clout, more power.

This is a temptation for Christians, especially those who have grown up in the Church. It is tempting to believe that more work, more time, more history means more reward, more influence, or more merit. This is the way of the world. The way of the Church is to follow the Word of God. The grace of God is not fairly distributed to all laborers. “Fairness” has little or nothing to do with God. God deals in equity. Grace is distributed equally. All have fallen short and all are redeemed by the blood of Jesus. That is not fair, but it is equal. God shows no partiality, meaning He does not account for prestige, fame, history, or power. He accounts only for faith, that is, trust in Him according to His word.

We in the church, those who have been in the vineyard since at least midday, tend to become too familiar with certain passages of Scripture. We forget how surprising they can be. We forget to sympathize with those called in the first hour. Of course, they expect to be paid more. In any business situation, it would only make sense to pay your best workers the best wages so they will continue to work for you. Yet God is not running an earthly business. He deals in grace, a free and undeserved gift.

Jesus asks those who were called in the first hour if their eye is evil because He is good.[3] What He means is, “Do you see evil in what I am doing? I AM Good. There is nothing Good outside of Me. By calling Me evil, you reveal the evil within your own heart. Take what is yours and get out of the vineyard.” You have already been called to stand in the church. Eternal glory is already yours, do not call the grace of God evil in your eyes. God is Good. God is The Good and His goodness has called sinners to repentance and faith.

Thanks be to God He has called us to faith and forgiven our sins. Thanks be to God He goes out again and again to call sinners to repentance. Thanks be to God that He has not given the vineyard to either the laborers or the stewards because we cannot see with His eternal eyes. He has given us responsibilities within His Church to serve God and neighbor within our various vocations. He has also given stewardship of His Church to pastors not on the basis of merit or worthiness. He has given this stewardship for the sake of good order and in service to His Church.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Romans 15:4.

[2] Ezekiel 33.

[3] St. Matthew 20:15.

Populus Zion (Advent 2)

Populus Zion (Advent 2) – December 4, 2022

Psalm 80; Song of Solomon 2:8b-14; Romans 15:4-13

St. Luke 21:25-36

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Lord is coming, and he is coming soon. Today we heard of the cosmos groaning in anticipation of His return. The sun, moon, and stars will be darkened. The sea and the waves will roar. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. St. Paul likens the groaning of the earth to a woman in labor.[1] Her contractions are increasing in intensity and frequency. The pain is reaching its peak just before the child comes into the world. So too creation itself is groaning louder and louder. Pain and suffering are increasing until the day when the child of the Virgin returns.

When a person grows old, his feet shake. As the world grows old, the foundation pillars of the earth shake, and we experience earthquakes, upheavals of the earth. Everything will eventually come crashing down like poorly constructed buildings. Sometimes fluid builds up in our joints and we experience painful inflammation. So too do the seas and their waves roar and roll when the earth is nearing its end.^[2]

When God finished creating the entire cosmos, crowned by His beloved man, He declared everything to be “very good.”[3] God created the cosmos and everything in the world to love and serve Him by serving the rest of creation. The trees praise God by providing shade, beauty, and fruit. The soil praises God by being fertile and aromatic, giving nutrients to the plants which feed the rest of God’s creation.

In the fall of Adam, creation itself was rent from perfect service to the creator. Trees are now forced to shade the wicked as well as the righteous. Their fruit rots. Their branches fall in storms. The soil dries hard and must be forced into submission before it is willing to give up food. Because of the Fall, all of creation longs to serve the purpose for which it was made – to love and serve God by serving the rest of creation.

Creation grows weary in awaiting the return of Christ. So too, do the hearts of man grow weary. “Men’s hearts fail them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth.”[4] We grow weary of hearing about wars and rumors of wars. We grow weary from earthquakes and roaring seas. We grow weary of plagues, pandemics, vaccines, and death. We grow weary and are tempted to focus our fear, love, and trust on the passing things of this world, on the creation which is dying.

Repent. Repent of idolatry. Repent of your misplaced fear, believing the wrath of God against creation is meant for you, His beloved. Fear causes us to shrink away from action. ‘Things are bad and might get worse if I do something, so it is best to do nothing.’ ‘If I keep quiet, maybe the persecution will pass me by.’ Repent and lift up your heads.[5]

When Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father, the Apostles stood, staring into the heavens after him. Then two angels said to them, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”^[6] The Apostles were focused on counting the signs so they wouldn’t miss the return of Christ. Yet the Angels admonished them. The return of Christ will be sudden and a surprise, but no one will miss it. Every eye shall see, and every knee will bow at the return of Christ.

Place your fear, love, and trust in God alone. He bids you to lift up your heads on that last day, to see your King descending upon the clouds. The heavens and the earth, all of creation will be destroyed on that last day. They will be burned in fire and a new creation will arise.[7] God will bring forth a new creation, free from the corruption of sin and once again, declare it “very good.”

This idea of “new creation” has already come to you, beloved of the Lord.[8] In Holy Baptism, the Old Adam, the Old Creation, is drowned and dies. He is buried beneath the Red Sea with Pharaoh and his chariots. From this flood arises the New Man, the New Creation, a beloved child of God. This child has nothing to fear from falling stars, darkening suns or moons. This child of God sees the budding of the fig tree, that is, the signs of the end in creation, and lifts up her head toward Christ. Surely, heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word of God will by no means pass away.

The Word of God is the most precious gift given to man. The Holy Sacraments—Baptism, the Eucharist, and Absolution—are that precious gift wrapped in physical means. Why would you ever neglect this precious gift of God for a few extra minutes of sleep? For a few extra minutes of television? For an extra helping of jell-o salad?

And when you have conquered the Old Adam and brought yourself into the House of God, why would you ever spend that time distracted by other people; distracting others, especially children; or thinking of your tasks for later in the day? Rejoice that you have come into the House of God. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the House of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.[9] I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go unto the house of the Lord!’[10] Lord, I love the habitation of Your House, and the place where Your glory dwells![11]

Why is the Psalmist so glad to be in the House of the Lord? Because that is where he receives the Word of God. That is where he dwells with God. That is where he will be for eternity. Heaven and earth will surely pass away. Jell-o salad, sleepiness, coloring books, crackers, football, and housecleaning will pass away. The Word of the Lord endures forever. The Word of the Lord alone endures forever.[12] Only those who are sustained by that Word of the Lord will endure forever in bliss. All others will endure forever in hellish torment.

The enduring Word of God communicates with his people. He is not silent. This communication is driven by His mercy. The prophecies of Christ regarding the final judgment are a warning. They are a warning so that you might be prepared. They are a warning so that you would know to repent of your sins and seek the Lord where He may be found.

“Behold the days are coming” says the Lord. “[When] I will send you Elijah the prophet… [who] will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction”[13]. This Elijah, this prophet, is fulfilled in John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way of the Lord through the preaching of repentance.[14] This Office of Prophet is now filled by all men called into the Office of the Holy Ministry. Pastors are called:

To give knowledge of salvation to God’s people
By the remission of your sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high,

[Christ the Light of the World,] has visited us;
To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide your feet into the way of peace.^[15]

Because of the enduring Word of God and the proclamation of the Gospel, the return of Christ for the final judgment is no surprise. But the precise timing will be a surprise. The Father has reserved knowledge of the day and hour of Christ’s return for himself.[16] This is another mercy of God. If we knew when Christ planned to return, we would wait until the last moment to repent… and we would probably miss it. The nature of the heart of man is to find a loophole in the law and exploit it. This never works out well.

So, the Father keeps us from knowing the day and the hour. God desires that all men would be prepared through repentance and faith. He sends his messengers before to proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins so that we would always be prepared. Advent is to prepare us for the year when there is no Christmas; for that day and hour when Christ returns.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Romans 8:22. Cf. St. John 16:20-22.

[2] This paragraph is based on Johann Gerhard, Postilla, Vol 1, trans by Elmer M. Hohle (Malone, TX: The Center for the Study of Lutheran Orthodoxy, 2003), 15-16.

[3] Genesis 1:31.

[4] St. Luke 21:26.

[5] Psalm 24:7; St. Luke 21:28.

[6] Acts 1:11.

[7] Isaiah 65:17.

[8] 2 Corinthians 5:17.

[9] Psalm 84:10.

[10] Psalm 122:1.

[11] Psalm 26:8.

[12] St. Luke 21:33.

[13] Malachi 4:1, 5-6.

[14] St. Matthew 11:14.

[15] The Benedictus, Luke 1:77-79

[16] St. Matthew 24:36.