Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Luke 21:25-36
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  December 2, 2018

During my middler year at Seminary a church in Texas requested a seminarian to come down and preach for a Sunday on Christian education. The preaching coordinator asked me and a few weeks later I hopped on a plane and landed in Dallas. I picked up my luggage and was on my way out when I noticed her. She couldn’t have been more than 7 years old. Standing on top of a bench she craned her neck to see over the crowd. She stood on her tiptoes trying to get as high she could as her eyes scanned the people coming from the baggage claim. She had a little white sign held high above her head with three words on it: “Welcome back, Daddy!”  Her mother, sitting next to her, had to keep a hand on her to make sure that, in her excitement, she didn’t step off the bench. If there were pictures in the dictionary, I’d like to think this little girl from the Dallas airport would be next to the word “hope”.

Her posture is actually the body language that our Savior prescribes for each one of us this Advent season. We may not necessarily need to go make signs and stand on our tiptoes, but he does say “stand up and lift up your heads”. We have reason to look forward his coming both in Bethlehem and whenever our final day comes because in either case our salvation is realized. Paradoxically, despite the daily distractions and disasters we face, with our Savior on the way we can all assume a posture of hope.

Let’s turn to a very interesting section of God’s Word, our Gospel lesson this morning from Luke chapter 21. Just before the words of our lesson Jesus told his disciples that their beloved temple in Jerusalem, the center for all worship in Israel, would be destroyed. He said that not one stone would be left on another. When the disciples asked for signs when this would happen, Jesus gave them quite an answer. At first, he spoke about persecution and trials that he wanted them to be prepared for, but then toward the end the chapter Jesus starts to give the disciples more than they bargained for. He gives them signs not just of Jerusalem’s fall, but signs that would take place in the last days of human history. Jesus said, “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Then after predicting these catastrophic events Jesus continues in the oddest way. He says, When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

What?! Let me get this straight, we are supposed to wait until we see signs of cosmic disaster, nations in anguish, the roaring sea, terror, and apprehension and once we notice this, that’s the cue for us to stand up in hope and raise our heads high? As odd and paradoxical as it may sound…Yes. Jesus explains it in a parable, saying: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.” Like a budding tree tells us summer is on its way, earthly trials and disasters are signs, not of God’s failure, but of the immanence of our coming salvation.

Jesus told his disciples that day, “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” And it was true, the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. and the signs began. If they could already see the signs beginning 2,000 years ago, how much more can we today? Roaring and tossing seas? How many hurricanes have hit our country alone in the last few years? Fear and apprehension? A myriad of examples are available, but depression and anxiety are certainly on the rise in America today. Even the heavenly bodies, referring here to the planets, can be said to have shaken, although this may primarily be a later sign. Did you know the Shoemaker-Levy Comet which hit Jupiter in 1994 was the same size as our entire plant? What a collision! At the very least we have seen most of these sign begin to take place as Jesus promised. And really, in the end, whether Judgment Day is tomorrow or 10 thousand years from now, we all have just a short while to prepare to meet our Savior.

And so Jesus gets intensely practical. He says, Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be careful, because our hearts can easily get weighed here can’t they? Jesus cites “carousing and drunkenness” as two of the main culprits. Carousing refers to reckless parties and a careless style of living. Drunkenness refers to exactly what you’d expect, but the point is that in either case these are self-medicated escapes from reality. They dull the senses and help us fall into temptation and lose our focus. This is a common temptation for Christians, don’t let anyone fool you. Did you have a rough day at work, is there family tension, are you lonely? The bottle on the shelf promises an escape from reality. And carousing is a temptation too, not just for party animals. Did you know it’s been found that people who attend a funeral often live more recklessly in the weeks following? Why? Because they are aware of the brevity of their own life. Whether to live-it-up or escape thinking about it usually a party, drugs, or drunkenness do the trick. The only thing is, these patches are only temporary. And when the high wears off, when the hangover hits, our hearts are heavy, weighed down with stress and guilt. These are not a solution to a sinful world and a sin-stained conscience. The third thing that weighs upon our hearts are simply “the anxieties of life”. Financial trouble, relationship troubles, difficulties with children, illnesses, work stress, you-name-it. They can crowd our perception so that we are consumed by worry, paralyzed by anxiety. Even with all the conveniences of our first-world existence, it is so easy to feel weighed down. Jesus says, that the greatest danger in this is that our final day will close on us suddenly like a trap. It’s true isn’t, it? The greatest fear of many people is to die in a posture of fear and regret.

But that’s not what God wants for anyone! He wants us to assume a posture of hope! And Jesus gives us the key. He tells his disciples, 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”  “Watch and pray”. This wouldn’t be the only time Jesus would say this either. Right before he was betrayed and crucified, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told Peter, James, and John, “Watch and pray, that you do not fall into temptation: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Jesus would come back to find them sleeping. Yet despite this, despite the times we have failed to watch and pray, Jesus did pray. He prayed, “Not my will but yours be done” and laid his life down for us. And so it is on Calvary we don’t view a bleeding criminal, we see God himself dying to pay for all sin. We see the price of our redemption hanging on that cross. And we know that one day Jesus is going to come back and pick up what he purchased.

This may be an odd way to illustrate it, but if you pay for some take-out food online, you drive and pick it up. Right? I mean we spend twenty dollars on dinner and there’s no way we forget to pick it up. How much more, how much infinitely more, when Jesus gave his very life for us, will he not return to pick us up. It is what he has promised. And as we heard our Savior say earlier. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” So stand up and get ready! Lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near! Jesus is why we always have reason to rise up, no matter what may seem to be falling apart here on earth. Jesus is the reason we can always stand in a posture of hope!

And we know already know how, in order to stand in hope we must watch and pray! That’s what we are going to be doing in church during Advent. We gather on Sundays and we add in Wednesdays too! Extra church! I don’t think I’m alone in this, but my two favorite church seasons are Advent and Lent, the two seasons with twice as much church! Why? Because I’m a glutton for punishment and like writing extra sermons? No, probably not. Because it is fun to see my church family on Wednesday and Sunday? That’s part of it. Because I enjoy the meal in between? That’s part of too. But I think the main reason I love these seasons is that they help me watch and pray. The more focused I am on our coming redemption, the less I hold onto stress and worry. I find that as I am immersed in God’s Word I have fresh strength to stand up to temptation, extra chances to say Thank You, and even more love and patience to share because my own well is filled up. You see Christ has asked us to assume a posture of hope, not only for ourselves but for others around us that we seek to love.

It’s no secret that the Christmas season is both the best of times and the worst of times. While many are singing carols and drinking eggnog, others are keenly aware of the fact that this season doesn’t bring them the same joy. It is far easier to overlook the death of loved ones when you don’t have to stare across the Christmas table at their empty places. It’s a lot easier to pretend that family trauma or conflict don’t exist when you aren’t planning to get together. It is easy to become weighed down by our society’s unspoken gift-giving requirements, especially when things are tight financially. Christmas weighs down a lot of hearts.

Could it be otherwise? Could you tell them that it doesn’t matter to you what gifts they give you? Could you tell them that your joy doesn’t depend on how well the family gets along because it is guaranteed in Bethlehem? Could you be generous with your money to those who are struggling financially this season? Could you pray earnestly for someone? Could you help someone watch and pray by inviting them to a Wednesday Advent service? Could you assume a posture of hope for everyone to see? Because of Jesus, I know you can.

You know I never got to see that little girl greet her father in the Dallas airport, but I can imagine what would have happened. She would have run to him as fast she could and he would kneel down to welcome her with open arms. He would have picked her up in a great big bear hug and told her how much he loved her. And then they would have gone home. I can’t wait to embrace my Savior when he returns in glory to take me home.

Amen.