Sermon for Pentecost 16: "Receiving Mercy Through Christ Alone" (Luke 16:19-31)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Intro]

 

Our text today contains images that may be earthshaking, because it pictures our own mortality. Yes, we are all going to die, since “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). This is our fate. That is, unless Christ returns first.

 

In the meantime, during our days on earth, everyone receives blessings from God. Each person – Christian and non-Christian alike – receives blessings now. We all receive daily bread – our food, clothing, and shelter. Every good and perfect gift is from God. We all receive protection from God as He constantly shields all people from the full wickedness of Satan. Even in today’s reading, throughout their days on earth, the rich man and Lazarus both received blessings from God. 

 

[The Life and Death of the Rich Man and Lazarus]

 

Jesus said: “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus” (Luke 16:19-20a).

 

From the start, we see two men who couldn’t be any more different. One was exceedingly rich, the other was beyond dirt poor. 

 

For this rich man, every day was a party. He wore the best money could buy. He lives in luxury. He spends his money like it’s burning a hole in his pocket. He was completely self-centered and heartless toward anyone but himself.

 

The other man lying outside his gate was a beggar named Lazarus. He was sick and crippled covered with sores and was starving. There he is lying at the gate day after day. He is a pitiful sight. His only hope is that someone – anyone cares! To make matters worse, Lazarus could see the rich man’s lavish lifestyle as he “desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table” (Luke 16:21a). All he desired were some bread crumbs that this rich man would just throw away.

 

It appears, the only ones who seemed to care for Lazarus were some stray dogs. They only showed him pity. They were his only friends. At least when they licked his sores, they relieved some of his pain. Jesus could hardly have pictured a man in a more pitiful condition as Lazarus.

 

Now, this rich man must have seen Lazarus at his gate every day. Yet, he did not lift a finger or spend a penny in order to relive this man’s pain or to satisfy his hunger. The sight of this utterly pitiful beggar aroused no pity in him. This nearly lifeless man had no effect on his conscience.

 

Up to this point, the rich man and Lazarus have been pictured as direct opposites as far as earthly prosperity is concerned. But then Lazarus died. Here is where things switch. When Lazarus died, he “was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side” (Luke 16:22a). Nothing is said about a fine funeral. For Lazarus, it appears, his body may have been unceremoniously placed in an unmarked grave with few, if any, people present to mourn for him. But that didn’t matter, since the angels carried him to Abraham’s side, or literally “Abraham’s bosom.” Here, we have the lovely picture of the believer being brought into the closest association with Abraham, just as a child is laid on the bosom of his mother and is embraced by her. This picture language tells us that to be with Abraham is to be in heaven.

 

Just as Jesus tells us that Lazarus died, the rich man also died and he was buried. Now, for this rich man, it is likely that he had a beautiful funeral with so many influential people to honor him. Yet, this rich man’s funeral was a poor funeral compared to Lazarus, since there were no angels to transport this rich man’s soul to heaven. Instead, he entered hell, since he had remained an unbeliever to his dying hour.

 

[The Conversation Between the Rich Man and Abraham]

 

These two men who had been opposites in their earthly life remain opposites even after death. Lazarus is escorted by angels immediately to heaven. Just as immediately, the rich man arrives in hell. Now, hell was first prepared for the devil and his angels. Hell was never prepared for people and that is a tragedy even to God.

 

In hell, this rich man is experiencing terrible torment. He is suffering. He is experiencing weeping and gnashing of teeth. He is experiencing extreme terror and horror as he has been cut off from all of God’s blessings. This rich man is forever separated from every good thing, since every good and perfect gift is from God. The devil gives nothing, but empty promises. Without God’s presence and protection, he is experiencing the real sufferings of hell.

 

Meanwhile, Lazarus is in heaven, the place of the eternally blessed. Now, Lazarus had his earthly lot of bad things, such as a long, painful illness, bitter poverty, humiliation, and degradation. But all the while, he endured those bad things. He endured because he possessed by faith the invisible treasures: assurance of pardon for the sake of the Messiah, the certainty of God’s love resting upon him, and the sure hope of eternal life in heaven. In fact, God had used those bad things in his life to refine and strengthen his faith.

 

While in heaven, Lazarus is “comforted.” He is receiving all the good things of heaven, its joy and bliss, its honor and glory, and all through faith.

 

Now, this rich man was not in hell because he enjoyed the good things in life, and Lazarus was not in heaven because “he had it so bad” here on earth. No, that’s not why. Riches and poverty were not the cause. Unbelief and faith is the cause.

 

But even with this being the case, the rich man begins to plead with God through Abraham, saying: “Father Abraham, have mercy on me” (Luke 16:24). “This isn’t fair!” “Give me another chance!”

 

Even for us, we may think: “Why not give him another chance?” This may sound callous, but this is simply the way it is. So, when a person goes through life and perishes and does not believe in Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior, this person must stand on their own merits. This person must receive exactly what their own merits deserve. Again, God is not vindictive, but this is simply the way it is. Indeed, God desires all people to be saved, but when people ignore God’s one way of salvation, this is the tragic result.

 

Now, when the rich man realizes that he has received what he deserved, he then attempts to find another way to save his five brothers who are on the path to hell. He said, “I beg you, father, to send [Abraham] to my father’s house – for I have five brothers – so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment” (Luke 16:27-28).

 

For the rich man, he figures that the only alternate way of salvation is a “shock treatment” method. He thinks that if someone would return from the dead to confront the wicked, God would get positive results. He believes the wicked would immediately repent. He believes that this would be a sure-fire method to scare the wicked away from hell and right into heaven. Here, he is not only contradicting God, but he is brazenly accusing God of injustice!

 

This, too, would never work. Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them” (Luke 16:29). The rich man said, “No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent” (Luke 16:30). No, this will not work, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

 

The “shock treatment” will never work on people who have heard the Word of salvation again and again and again, but have kept on hardening themselves against it. They will not be convinced, or come to faith in God’s Messiah set forth in that Word, even though God should raise someone from the dead to denounce their unbelief, warn them against the fires of hell, and summon them to faith. Instead, they will attempt to prove that the resurrected person never died, or they will declare such a resurrection to be scientifically impossible. If the Word of God is irrelevant to them, they will never be convinced that someone is raised from the dead. You see, God’s Word is the means by which God turns hearts.

 

Now, you may wonder, “Will there be conversations between those in hell with God?” That answer is no. Though they may want to, they will not be able to. For they will have to bow before the will of the exalted Christ as proclaimed in Philippians 2:10: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,” that is, hell. It is likely, Jesus is using this conversation for the sake of the story. In the end, every tongue will “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11).

 

[The Gospel is Revealed in the All-Sufficient Scriptures]

 

With the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, how does God show mercy? Well, that answer is this: “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.” Everything that the rich man wanted is revealed in Moses and the Prophets. Now, the phrase “Moses and the Prophets” summarizes the entirety of the Old Testament Scripture. This same Old Testament warns against this terrible torment known as hell. This same Old Testament warns everyone what happens to those who break God’s Commandments. But this same Old Testament also gives the wonderful promise of a Savior who would deliver them from torment.

 

So, if we don’t remember the Scriptures – the Old and New Testaments – and what these Scriptures teach that the Word of the Gospel is all-sufficient – if we don’t remember that – we will end up like the rich man. 

 

We all have family and friends who do not remember the Scriptures. We all know some in our church family who have been missing. Instead of worrying about their salvation, give them a call or take them out to lunch and share with them in a friendly way the salvation you have received in Christ by taking to heart what is proclaimed by Moses and the Prophets.

 

So, we must take heed to what is proclaimed in the Divine Service and take it to heart. But today, you are listening to Moses and the Prophets. You have repented of your sins and by the Holy Spirit working in you, you will continue to repent of your sins. So, by listening to the Holy Scriptures of Moses and the Prophets as they proclaim Jesus, you are joining Lazarus by coming to the table this day as we receive a foretaste of heaven on earth in the Lord’s Supper.

 

We have been given the gift of Moses and the Prophets. Like the Emmaus disciples who at first doubted Christ’s resurrection, we have been given open eyes in the breaking of the bread, the risen One who comes to us at every Divine Service, as we are persuaded in how we have been given salvation in Christ. Thus, we live in Christ by telling others of our salvation in Christ, so that they too – through the Holy Spirit’s work – may be given mercy – just as we have received mercy – and all through Christ alone! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Pentecost 15: "Trusting in the Generosity of God" (Luke 16:1-15)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Money is Persuasive]

 

Money is a remarkably persuasive false god. Money sits on your shoulder and whispers into your ear: “Now listen to me! I’ll give you a little freedom to do some things, but in the end, you will make all of your important decisions in life on the basis of me. You will decide when to get married because of me. You will decide when to have children because of me. Remember, when push comes to shove, I call the shots! Understand?”

 

You have in this parable the story of a man who had been accumulating wealth for himself. He was trusting that the needs of his life and his future would be secured through his savings account, his business dealings, and so forth. Now, he was, we’re told, cooking the books, skimming money off the top, but like those who break the Seventh Commandment and steal money, he’s figured out a way in his mind to justify it. “I’m overworked and underpaid.” “I’ll pay it back.” “I need it more.” Whatever the reason, for this man, he believes his master’s money is the solution. The master’s money is the thing in which he trusts.

 

And whatever we end up trusting becomes our god. As Luther says in his Large Catechism: “Anything in which your heart relies and depends, I say, that is really your god.” Popular false gods are celebrities, athletes, politicians, and even doctors. But the most common false god is money.

 

But the thing is, we can’t trust in false gods. And money is a false god. You see, it doesn’t care about you. It doesn’t love you. And it will leave you. That is what happens in this parable. Everything this manager – this steward – had been lying awake at night afraid would happen, happens. His money abandons him, and he is left now to figure out something different to put his trust. But, what will it be?

 

“There was a rich man who had a manger, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg” (Luke 16:1-3).

Now, pay attention to the manager’s desperation: He’s stuck. He’s hopeless. That’s why Jesus includes His comment, “I can’t dig; I can’t beg.” His ship is sinking and he does not even have a lifeboat. Everything he had worked for – a lifetime’s worth of careful effort and planning, even if it was crooked – was gone. Even if you have not been in his shoes, I trust you can understand his frustration.

 

[Trusting in the Master’s Generosity]

 

Well, the manager has been fired. From this point, he is no longer legally authorized to conduct any business in the name of his master. And if he would, it would not be legally binding. But take a moment to notice that the master does not immediately throw him in jail. He surely could have for cooking the books, but he didn’t.

 

We have all heard of – or have been involved in – companies that have downsized. Now, when this happens, the boss often says something like this: “Sorry, due to downsizing, we are letting you go. We need you to leave the premises immediately.” These companies do this because they recognized that angry or desperate employees can do a lot of damage if they are not cut off immediately. Notice, that is not what the master does. Instead, he let the fired manager go home, get the books, and return back.

 

So, what does the fired manager do? He uses the very, very small amount of time to take advantage of his master’s reputation for being generous. Now, this manager could have done a number of things, but he doesn’t do them. Instead, he figures that his best shot at survival is to bank on his master’s reputation for being exceedingly generous. He had been trusting in his master’s money, but that’s now all gone. He’s fired. Now he begins to trust in the thing he should have trusted in the first place: his master’s generosity.

 

So, during this time, he quickly calls in each of his master’s clients. From this, we can tell how much clout this man has. We see how quickly people come to him when he sends for them! Now, here’s the key: the manager is fired, and he knows that, the master knows that, but no one else does. The clients don’t know it.

 

So, one at a time, the fired manager calls in the clients. And here is how he does it: “He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty’” (Luke 16:5-7).

 

Through these couple transactions, he cancels about 18 months of wages with each account. But did you notice that he has them change the amount? It happens in their handwriting, not his. This is an important detail, and the reason is this: the next thing the manager will do is take all these changed contracts back to the master. And when he places the books on his master’s desk to review, the master slowly realizes two things: first, these debts have been lowered, and second, my debtors know about it, because it’s in their handwriting. If it had been merely in the manager’s handwriting, he would just change them all back and there wouldn’t be any harm; no one would have known.

 

But now the master sits back in his chair. Just outside, he can hear the sound of celebration thrown in his honor – in honor of the most generous landowner that country has ever known. They have already begun to post on social media about how good and kind their landlord is. After all, they all assume that the manager just did what the master asked him to do.

 

Now, many of us have been tenants in an apartment or leased a building for a business, so what would a normal landlord do? A normal landlord would walk right into that party and announce, “Turn down the music. The party is over! Everything that happened today was illegal. I didn’t authorize this. That man is a crook. And so, I am still expecting your regular payments at the beginning of the month.”Yes, that is what any ordinary landlord would do. Is that what you would do? And if that’s what the master did, this man’s plan would collapse. But the master doesn’t do it. Not this master. Not this landlord. This master has a reputation for being generous. Because, he is generous.

 

He looks up at his fired manager and says, “Well played. You knew me. You knew that I would let this stand. You’re a crook and a scoundrel, but you are really smart.” Jesus says this: “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness” (Luke 16:8a). He commended him not because of his character or his ethics, but because of his shrewdness. When his ship was sinking, he knew which way to jump. 

 

[Our Master is Unusually Generous]

 

So, what’s the moral of this story – this parable? Jesus says: “Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails [your money, which it will] they may receive you into the eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9). 

 

We all have money. Many of us have significant amounts of money. Or, you may have little money. But we all have money. Jesus says, “Use this money however great or small to get people into heaven.” 

 

You see, our money, however great or small, can have eternal returns. Our tithes and offerings go to paying the bills of the church so we can have a comfortable and dry place to receive God’s gifts of His Word and His Sacrament. Our tithes and offerings also go to missions outside these church walls, such as those learning to be church workers at our seminaries, and those in financial need through the Good Samaritan fund.

 

We all have heard of people who came into a bunch of money all of a sudden – from the lottery, from inheritance, or from a sports contract. What usually happens? Before that person knows it, the money is gone. Now, what if this person gave 10 percent of his money to church missions? As every cent of his money is gone, a person asks him, “Don’t you wish you had that 10 percent back?” He would reply, “No, that’s the only part that is still doing any good.”

 

You see, God has made it so our money could be a false god to you, and it likely is, but he made it so that your money can be used for eternal purposes. So, for whatever else you use your money, this parable teaches that we have a Christian responsibility to support – shrewdly and enthusiastically – the preaching of the Gospel.

 

But there is, as you can see, a backstory to this. It’s not as through you labor under a master who is hard and cruel, but rather one who is unusually generous. And whether you have been faithful in your use of His money or have been less than faithful – have squandered it, have wasted it, been selfish or greedy – your Master is still generous. He continues to love you and sees you through. By grace through faith in Jesus alone, we will receive an eternal dwelling. We are saved because of the generosity of your Master.

 

Your Master is Jesus Christ. He loves and forgives sinners. He gives all who trust in Him more than just earthly wealth and goods. He gives us His Body and Blood on the cross to save us. And this is for free! We don’t have to do a thing. We don’t have to make back payments or make up for your sins or try to impress anyone. We don’t have to do anything, but trust in Him. He’s accomplished everything for us.

 

So, if you are stuck and don’t know what do to or where to go – if you’re too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg – cling to Jesus for He is always generous. So, grab a hold of the generosity of God. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Advent 1: "Stay Awake for the Coming of the Lord"

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Intro]

Jesus said: “Therefore stay awake – for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning – lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake” (Mark 13:35-37).

Some years ago, a tourist was traveling along the shores of Lake Como in Northern Italy. He wanted to visit especially one castle called Villa Arconti. Now, when the tourist reached the castle, a friendly old gardener opened the gate and showed him the grounds, which this old man kept in perfect order.

“How long have you been here?” the tourist asked. “Twenty-four years,” replied the gardener.

“And how often has the owner of the castle been here during that time?” “Four times.”

“When was he here the last time?” “Twelve-years ago.”

“Never since then?” “Never.”

“Does he write to you?” “No.”

“From whom then do you get your instructions?” “From his agent in Milan.”

“Does this agent come out here quite often?” “Never.”

“Who, then, comes here?” “I am almost always alone – only once in a great while a tourist comes here.”

“But you keep this garden in such fine condition and take such excellent care of all the plants, just as though you expected your master to come tomorrow.”

“Today, sir, today,” the old gardener promptly replied.

[Be Prepared]

Today we begin a new church year and a new season, Advent. Now, Advent literally means “coming,” so during this season, we celebrate the Lord’s first coming, which began at His conception in the virgin Mary’s womb through the Holy Spirit and ended with His bodily ascension into heaven, where He is to this day, sitting at the right hand of God the Father. We also anticipate Christ’s second coming, when He will come to judge the living and the dead, which could be at any moment – and not just during the season of Advent.

So, how is your faith this day? Are you prepared to meet our Master Jesus, like the gardener is prepared to meet his master, the owner of the castle? How prepared are you?

In our Gospel text from Mark this morning, Jesus teaches and reassures us – His flock – on how to be ready for His second Advent, His second coming. Christ teaches us: “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come…. Therefore stay awake – for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning – lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake” (Mark 13:32-33, 35-37).

Here, Christ is warning His flock to stay awake until His coming. Now, Jesus is not telling us to never rest our eyes and sleep, for we all need a good night’s rest in order to stay awake and function in our daily lives. Rather, Jesus is warning us to remain alert to proclaim the Gospel and practice the one true Christian faith in our daily life – our daily vocations: father, mother, son, daughter, teacher, student, boss, employee, and on and on. 

What Christ is saying is this: “Be on guard! Be alert!” He is teaching that we should not immerse ourselves in the things of this world and thus lose our own soul. He is teaching us to not be an easy-going Christian whose conversation and conduct are hardly distinguishable from unbelievers. He is teaching that we must always keep our eyes fixed and focused on Him alone.

As God’s children, we wait with patient watchfulness. And why are we patient? We are patient because our Savior has planted a bright and certain hope in our hearts.

Upon hearing the Boy Scout motto: “Be Prepared,” someone asked Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell in 1907[1] the inevitable question: “Prepared for what?” “Why for any old thing,” he replied. He then went on to say, “Being prepared means you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty.”

This is exactly what Jesus is teaching us today since the Christian is never off duty. We are not just a Christian on a Sunday morning, we are a Christian day and night, night and day, 24-7. We are always to remain vigilant and prepared for the Lord’s coming.

[How Prepared is Christ?]

But, what about Jesus? Is He prepared for His own bodily return? For He says, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32).

Is it true that Jesus does not even know when He will come to judge the living and dead? Well, pay attention to when He said this. He spoke this prior to His atoning death and resurrection. So, when He spoke these words, He was in the state of humiliation. Remember, since before time existed, Jesus has always been God. But, when He came into the world in human form, He willingly gave up much of His divine attributes – His divine powers – during His earthly ministry, although when necessary, He used His divine powers to bring people to faith in Him, such as turning water into wine and healing the sick.

The Apostle Paul explains Christ’s humiliation this way: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by being obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).

So, as Christ said, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father,” here He is speaking this from His state of humiliation. But what about today? Does Christ, in fact, know when He will return? That answer is “Yes!”

Now that Christ has risen from the dead and has bodily ascended into heaven, He is now in the state of exultation. So, after His saving work was complete, He resumed the full and constant use of the divine powers that he had voluntarily limited Himself while He was in His state of humiliation.

This is a lot to comprehend. Here’s how the Apostle Paul explains Christ’s state of exultation: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

So, since Christ is at the state of exaltation, He is all-knowing. He knows what God the Father knows. He knows what the Holy Spirit knows. For they are three-in-one and one-in-three as one God, now and forever. As Paul says in Colossians 2:3, “In [Him] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

So, Christ is prepared. He knows the day and the hour. But, since we are not all-knowing, like Him, we are to always be prepared. We are to always be awake!

Now Jesus does give us some hints, but we may not always take notice of these hints. He says: “But in those days, after the tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling down from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:24-26).

Will you be prepared for that day? For if you prepare then, it will be too late as Christ teaches us in the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). Remember, some of the virgins were foolish, the others were wise. The wise were prepared, but the foolish were not. For that, the foolish were left out of the marriage feast. The foolish ones knocked on the door to the wedding feast and pleaded, “Lord, lord, open to us.” But He answered, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”

So, will you be known by the Lord at His coming?

[My Words Will Not Pass Away]

One way to be known by the Lord at His coming is trusting in His words as He says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Mark 13:31).

You see, the world and sun, moon and stars may go into complete chaos, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. These words of Jesus are written before us in the Old and New Testaments from Genesis to Revelation. These are Christ’s very words. These are the words that will never pass away. These are the words that give us a certain hope in uncertain times.

As we begin the season of Advent and a new church year, this is a time of repentance and renewal.

Each December, we begin seeing commercials for fitness gyms with great offers to get us back into physical shape for the new year. Many of us may make New Years’ resolutions to be better at this or that.

But, what about the Christian new year? Are you satisfied with the shape of your Christian faith?

How often do we really take to heart the words of Christ that will never pass away? Are you lackadaisical in your faith in Christ? If Christ returns today or tomorrow, would you be scared and shocked, or would you be at calm?

Do you fear God’s wrath by avoiding every sin? Is your love for and trust in God evident in your daily living? Do you neglect the Word of God? Do you gossip, listen to rumors, or take pleasure in talking about the faults or mistakes of anyone?

Throughout His Written Word, Christ constantly teaches His flock to “Stay awake.” He says: “Whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teachers others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19) and “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void” (Luke 16:17).

We can all do better in displaying the love of Christ, since none of us is perfect. We can all strive to become better Christians by becoming more like Christ by doing our best in following His commandments.

Now, we seemingly always mess up, but do not let that become an excuse. The point is to be ready and not to think of excuses. Instead, we are to repent of that sin, receive God’s forgiveness, and strive to do our best in being a follower of Christ.

Thanks be to the Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – that He gives us time to be ready as we hear His Word and receive His Sacrament. The best news of all is that when all else passes away, Christ’s sure words remain, in which we hope and trust.

The words that we will hear at Christ’s Second Coming – His Second Advent – will fulfill the Gospel as Jesus acknowledges those who, through faith worked by the Holy Spirit, acknowledged Him as their Lord.

We will hear words proclaiming Jesus as the One who came “to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). We will hear words that uphold God’s holy and perfect law, but also announce that through the perfect life of Jesus on our behalf, He has fulfilled all of God’s demands. We will hear words of forgiveness assured for us by the cross and empty tomb. These words will cover us in the righteousness of Jesus for all eternity, for we have been declared righteous for His sake.

For us now, we stay awake for the coming of the Lord as He readies us through His Word and Sacrament.

Now, the purpose of Christ’s second coming is not merely to judge but, primarily, to give us the salvation He won for us during His first Advent on earth. This He accomplished through His sinless life, His atoning suffering and death and His bodily resurrection from the dead. In fact, Christ gives of His forgiveness this day in His Word and Sacrament!

So, always look to Jesus and His cross where He won for all of mankind forgiveness, life, and salvation! This is why He came! This is why He will come again! In the meantime, we trust in Him and His promises by keeping our eyes fixed and focused on Jesus alone as we love God and support our neighbor by staying awake for the coming of the Lord! Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

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[1] https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2017/05/08/be-prepared-scout-motto-origin/