The Last Sunday of the Church Year and video
The Last Sunday of the Church Year
Jude 20-25
Mark 13:24-37
I have not had the pleasure of living in a residence that has a doorkeeper. But I have visited such places. Those door keepers are a first familiar face and voice of welcome to residents. They are also the first line of defense in keeping people who do not belong out. Those who do not belong may want in for a couple of reasons. One, they are curious how others live. They just want to see what they can see. Second, they have mischief in their hearts.
Jesus calls the pastors and leaders of the Church to serve as doorkeepers for the Church and her congregations. We are mandated to be careful about who enters and who exercises their influence. Those entering may truly seek God’s salvation through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Or, they may have a different agenda and work to sow discord and false doctrine. We must stay awake, stay alert, be vigilant to who is entering and leaving and discern what is going on.
Mark Chapter 13 is sometimes referred to as the “Little Apocalypse” because Jesus offers some words of instruction about the end times and his second coming. Jesus’ instruction is relatively brief in comparison to the Revelation to John that concludes the Bible.
The few words that Jesus offers gets right down to the point. When Jesus comes again, life is going to hard and rough. War, famine, sickness, persecution, and false prophets and Messiahs will be everywhere causing great distress and turmoil. We could easily look around our own world and see that the signs that Jesus describes are going on right now. So, we need to make sure that we are ready to receive Jesus.
As I say this, it is also wise to hear what else Jesus says here. Jesus makes clear that He does not know when He is going to return. Only the Father knows. This is the result of the distinctive mystery of our God: three distinct persons, yet one God. Each of the three person has their responsibilities, and there is plenty of overlap, but the Father alone is the one who knows for certain when and under what circumstances he will send the Son to return to earth and initiate the Great Resurrection. Jesus confesses that the timing is out of His hands. The Holy Spirit does not know either. They just know the signs of the close of the age.
When we look around and see that the signs are in place, we, being the doorkeepers grow ever more alert and prayerfully watchful. Yet, we must remember that there have been numerous times in history when the world was a dismal place, and all the signs were present pointing to the possibility that Jesus may very well be returning. Take for example, America in Christmas of 1929. The effect of the stock market crash continued to make its impact felt all over the country. Dismal times, indeed. Or, say 1861-1865, as the effects of the American Civil war were reverberating across the land and beyond. Who could trust who at that point? There was starvation, growing homeless, the development of families stopped because so many sons were not coming home. In 1529 Martin Luther was convinced for a while that Jesus was coming. The Ottoman Empire was expanding further into Europe. They had attacked Vienna. Luther called for a time of fasting and prayer. God heard the prayers of the Church, and the Ottoman Empire was turned back from Vienna at that time.
There are many more instances in our world history where the signs were present, but it was not yet the time that the Father has chosen for the Son to return for the Church. But, rest assured, an end will come just as Jesus says. Whenever we see the signs, we are reminded how important it is to be spiritually prepared.
What is spiritual preparation? It is remaining faithful to the doctrine that Jesus teaches us. It is remaining faithful to and being held accountable to God’s Word. Nothing in the Lutheran Church is to be opposed to the teaching of Jesus, the rest of Scripture, or our confessional book, the Book of Concord which is based on Scripture. Spiritual preparation is also the meat and potatoes of what we do here on Sunday morning: repentance, prayer, community, reception of the Word of God and a faithful exposition of it, reception of God’s grace in the absolution, the proclamation of the Gospel, and the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Lord’s Supper. In the partaking of the gifts of God in corporate worship, we invite the Holy Spirit to lead us into holy living where God’s priorities shape our priorities and lives.
Spiritual preparation is how we remain vigilant. It is how we remain discerning doorkeepers, ever watchful of the church, so that the pure doctrine of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, is never compromised. When Jesus comes, we are ready to be called home.
I conclude with the doxology that Jude offers to the church: Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
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