1 Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our sermon text from Mark 13, Jesus prepares us for His return, saying: But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens But concerning that day or hour, no one knows Be on guard, keep awake. This is our text. This past week the boys and I were skipping school on a fine Monday morning. We were hunting pheasant and quail up around Victoria. We didn t see much but I hoped they d get to see the dog work and learn when the dog was working a scent by the way he changed everything from how he ran to his tail wagging. Near the end of our hunt, the dog went completely rigid, standing on three feet. I told the kids to watch closely, and as I moved past his nose, I could see all his muscles getting ready to spring. Only then I caught the faintest little scent and then pretty quickly quite a lot of scent. When I retreated yelling, Skunk, skunk, Rosco must have thought I had ordered the attack, as he leaped in. I ve hunted God s delicious little creatures for quite a long time and have especially loved bird hunting, really more for the dog work and friendships than the actual viddles. But following a dog you ve got to learn to read their signs and signals and be attentive to if their point is a for sure, or just a maybe, or if it s his way of saying something s not quite right. Maybe because the boys were there and I wanted so badly for them to see what Rosco was born and bred to do I missed the signs and missing the sign meant we got to drive 30 miles with a skunk-scented dog in back of the car. Sign reading can be a smelly when your dog s pointing a skunk, or even potentially dangerous if you get a badger or something, but at least you can chuckle about
2 those things after the skunk smell wears off. Some misreading of signs can be detrimental, not only for your physical, but for your eternal life. Both the cult of Mormonism and the Jehovah s Witnesses had their roots in false prophecies by their founders of Jesus imminent return or the Last Day of this world, rallying thousands to their false teachings. They read the signs and picked the day, but they were false prophets. They didn t know the true God and still lead many to hell. It s true that Jesus does give a number of signs we should expect to see in the Last Days before the return of Christ. But Jesus doesn t use them to scaremonger. Although he who doesn t know Christ through faith should be very afraid. Jesus cautions us against thinking we will know the Last Day: No one knows that day but the Father. Rather than inducing a climate of fear, Jesus prepares His Church. Be awake Stand guard at the door. Don t be so foolish as to think you ll prioritize Christ when you re old, as if you could ever know your last day. There will be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famine, signs in the heavens indicative of a world drawing to her Judgment. There will be rejection of the Gospel and persecution of the Church. But all of those things were already present in that generation that witnessed Jesus death. The signs Jesus gives make us watchful and alert. They remind us not to store up treasures here on earth where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. The signs remind us to be vigilant and faithful as we live out our callings, certain of God s future Kingdom. Don t sit idly waiting. Serve the Lord with gladness! May God make us joyfully and eagerly attentive for His coming. Daily we hear the clamor for war, the hostility to cops on our streets, broken homes and lives. We see
3 terrorist attacks and violence against Christians especially in the Middle East. The demonic false faith of Islam has nearly eviscerated Christianity in the Biblical lands of old, and the sad indication is even the Christian Church in the West has lost her last generation to secularism. Like the servants in Jesus words standing guard at the door, awaiting their master, we parents sometimes worry and wish we could hold shut the door to protect our children from despair and unbelief. The distress Jesus describes in out sermon text is the distress that each of us lives in today. Christ s death and resurrection have ushered in the last days, and we are all part of the generation that must patiently await Christ s return. That distress already surrounds us and has since Jesus ascended, yet we don t know what crosses of suffering and hardship God will lay upon our shoulders. We have only Jesus words, Take up your cross and follow me. Thinking about the last days and the time of tribulation and distress can be a scary thing, but it need not be if you are in Christ through faith. We have a God who has overcome the power of the devil. He has conquered the power of death and the grave by the power of the cross. If our faith rested in our hands, we would have good reason for fear, but it doesn t. It never has. The Catechism taught us: The Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one, true faith. God is the Author and the Perfecter, and He will be faithful to you and me whatever cross our futures hold. Jesus surrendered His own life on Calvary s cross that we might be sure that we are enfolded in His loving care. We have peace in Him knowing that He conquered the powers of death and the devil by rising from the dead. Jesus said, I have told you these
4 things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. So it turns out this is why God gives us a kind of preview of the Last Days so we can live and serve and go about our daily lives loving God and one another joyfully serving Him in all the many vocations God has given us resting in the peace of Christ, who overcomes the world. I say ours is a joyful service, not because life will be easy. The Bible says, All who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted. Yes, some of your friends at school may admire you for being a Christian and standing up for truth. Many won t. But we have the joyful assurance even in suffering of the great hymn writer s word: When life s troubles rise to meet me, Though their weight may be great, They will not defeat me. God my loving Savior sends them; He who knows all my woes Knows how best to end them. Paul tells us this distress that surrounds us has no power over a child of God, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." The victory that Christ accomplished by casting aside the cold clutch of the grave is already our victory, and we will know it more fully when Jesus returns in power to gather His elect, His chosen people from the ends of the earth. Paul tells us that in all our distress and tribulation, We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
5 Today on the Last Sunday of the Church Year, Christ the King Sunday, our thoughts turn to Christ s second coming. This is a reminder to us of the One, True and solid thing that will last. Heaven and earth will pass away, but God s Word will never pass away. Christ may come at any minute. We don t know the time. It s not for us to know. May God give you and me the wisdom to pray: Lord, it belongs not to my care Whether I die or live; To love and serve Thee is my share, And this Thy grace must give. If life be long, I will be glad That I may long obey; If short, yet why should I be sad To soar to endless day. Be joyful in service. In Jesus, it is well with you. One day every tear will be turned to laughter and God Himself will wipe every tear from our eyes. God s Word will never pass away. Amen And now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.