2022-11-13 Second Last Sunday before Advent

 Second Last Sunday before Advent  

Malachi 4:1-6 2 Thessalonians 3:1-13 Luke 21:5-36

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

King Solomon wrote a poem in his book Ecclesiastes about how there is a time for everything. 

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. (Eccl 3:1-8)

Many of us enjoy the rhythm of these words and the truth expressed that in the course of a lifetime, we have this wide range of experiences.  But, what the poem lacks is a corresponding list of reasons why certain things happen. In the lessons today, we are given reasons why things happen. The lessons speak of punishment, justice, destruction and persecution. God’s Word tells Christians how we can live through these terrible times.   

Malachi prophesies that God’s judgment is coming. God’s judgment will not be pleasant for those that deserve it. The evil doers and the arrogant will be scorched, decimated, reduced to stubble with nothing left to sustain them.  This is part of a great reversal where the righteous will be blessed. God brings judgment and destruction upon the unrepentant. God lifts up the lowly righteous. 

Malachi gives reasons for God’s judgment. You recall that Jerusalem’s walls and Temple were destroyed by the Babylonians in 587BC. Then, the people were exiled into Babylonian empire. The Lord used Babylon to enact his punishment upon His people because of their refusal to repent of their idolatry and attendant  sins.  Jerusalem had plenty of warnings from prophets.  But they would not heed.  They would not change.  They would not put away the false idols and return to the LORD. So, Solomon’s temple was destroyed as was the mighty fortress city Jerusalem. 

God’s exile of His people only lasted a few decades. Then the rebuilding began. The book of Malachi was written around 430BC.  A mere 15 years after the walls of Jerusalem were restored in 445BC.  Malachi was written 86 years after the Second Temple was completed. Yet, already, sinful behavior was growing.  The priesthood was corrupt; worship by the leadership and the people had become routine; divorce was widespread; social justice was ignored; and tithing was woefully inadequate.  

The LORD is patient and generous beyond reason, but even He has limits. Malachi announces that a new day is coming.  Judgment is coming. People will know the time has come because one like Elijah will appear to call them to repentance and prepare the way of the LORD. 

Malachi reports that God reminds us to remember the Law of his servant Moses.  In his Law is also the design for God’s residence, God’s temple.  The LORD intends to reside in the midst of the people in the desert. If you want to find God and pray to God, then go to the Temple. He can always be found there.

Among the many things Jesus taught us is that the Law of Moses points us to the coming Christ. The Law does not exist in and of itself for all time. When the Christ comes, the faithful will have a different relationship with the Law.  The Law will still be there.  The Law in general and the Ten Commandments in particular will become the rule by which God shows us our sinful thoughts and behaviors. The Law becomes the means by which the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin.  It will be the mirror which shows us our spiritual unfitness for God’s kingdom.  It will reflect back to us how far we fall short of God’s expectations and His glory. 

Jesus also teaches us that He is the fulfillment of the Law.  Jesus Christ is where the fullness of God dwells.  The temple is no longer the dwelling place of God.  Jesus Christ is.  The temple will no longer be the place of sacrifice.  Jesus Christ is the final sacrifice.  He offers himself upon the cross to die for our sins once and for all. 

Elijah did come. The spirit of Elijah was John the Baptist.  He prepared the way for the coming LORD. Many joined in the preparation by receiving John’s baptism in the river Jordan. Yet, many more refused to receive John’s words.  Judah and Jerusalem continued to sin.  There was not the wholesale return to the LORD that needed to happen.  

Then Jesus came amongst them. Many followed.  But, many more rejected God Incarnate. 

The price of steadfast refusal to obey God’s Law, God’s prophets, and God’s Son, is judgment.  Jesus speaks to God’s judgment.  It will be terrible. The temple will be destroyed.  Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians.  The second temple is destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. Jerusalem the city suffered the same fate as the temple.

Strife between nations escalates into all out war.  Has there ever been a time without war? The urge to take offense, to retaliate, the urge to covet and take away the resources of another country remain. The desire to expand the borders of one’s country continues to this day. We are experiencing the impact of President Putin’s attempted conquest of Ukraine. Along the way, the faithful are caught up in the movements of history, the decisions of leaders who are not following God’s lead, and caught in the midst of God’s judgments. The faithful endure persecution because our ultimate loyalty and our values for life come from God, not the crooked human heart.   

What do we do?  We remain faithful to the one who has claimed us.  We are claimed by God through Holy Baptism. The Holy Spirit brought us into faith through the Word. On account of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our heavenly looks upon us with favor, he loves us, and forgives us our sins.  The Holy Spirit brought us into the church. Here, we learn to confess our faith.  When the time comes, we do out there in the world what we have learned to do here.  We use the words we have learned in the liturgy, the hymns, the Scriptures, and the catechism to make our confession of faith.  God will give us the will and the words. We stand fast because we have faith in the God who brought this world into being, who has redeemed it, and who will in the fullness of His time end it.  We have faith in God’s promises of forgiveness and life everlasting in God’s presence.         

King Solomon is right. There is a time for everything.  There is a time to be born, a time to die, a time to keep silence and a time to speak, a time to love, a time for peace, and a time for war. There is also a time for God’s judgment. And, a time for confessing the Christian faith. 

As the world does what the world insists on doing and God responds accordingly, we make use of our time to remain spiritually alert. We watch and use the time for repenting, forgiving and being forgiven, and for confessing the faith in which we are baptized.   

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