Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Text (Luke 21:25-36)
When these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
Täämɛ mi ci ti̱ti̱ diaal ku tuɔɔk, kua rɔ̱ jiɛc kä kapɛ wuɔ̱thkun nhial, kɛ ɣöö ci ka̱ndun thiekä.
Prayer: Sanctify us in the truth, Lord. Your word is truth. Amen.
When Jesus speaks, and when Jesus opens his mouth, he says things that we would have no idea of knowing otherwise if he didn’t say them. He doesn’t walk around telling his disciples things that they already know or things that they could learn from someone else. He tells them things which only he can tell them.
For example, if he didn’t actually tell his disciples that he is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that no-one comes to the Father except through him, they simply wouldn’t know. People would probably assume that like every other religion, that Jesus is a good moral teacher, or something like that, like Buddha, Confucius, and Lao-Tzu, or even Gandhi. We’re all going to the same place, people say, but we’re just on different buses. But that simply isn’t true – Jesus tell us what we don’t know by ourselves. We could say, if we do the right thing, and we do the right thing by people and don’t cause too much of a stir, and don’t upset people too much, then “we’re all right”, whatever that means! But Jesus tells us, “I am the Way the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” Jesus excludes all other ways, all other truths, and all other lives. And then invites everyone to come to the Father through him. And we simply wouldn’t know this, unless he told us.
Right from the first verse in the bible, we are not reading things that we could learn from other places. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” We say this every Sunday in the creed, and perhaps you even say these words every day. “I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” Every other religion has basically assumed that the earth has always been there, and it will basically always be there. Every other religion has basically assumed that the earth itself is eternal, that the earth itself is almost a type of God, and that everything that happens to us is subject to the moods and whims of the earth. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed in some type of gods, but they believed in gods which were not in charge of the earth, but the earth was in charge of them.
We on the other hand believe in a God who is in charge of the earth, and who made the earth, and at the last day, will also bring it to an end.
And it’s about this last time that we read about in our reading today:
And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
Today our focus is not simply just on the end of the world – but rather the coming of Jesus. Two weeks ago, on the last Sunday of the Church Year, we often remember the end of the world, and we also have a similar reading today, but for a different purpose. The season of the church year that we’re in at the moment is called “Advent” – and Advent means, “coming”. And so for these four Sundays of Advent, we have readings which are speaking about Jesus coming. And then at Christmas we celebrate the time when he was actually born of the Virgin Mary, in the stable in Bethlehem.
So in our reading we read: And then they will see the Son of Man (that’s Jesus) coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
And so what is Jesus actually saying to us today?
First of all, we read that there will be great signs when he comes.
He says: There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Every era of the church has always had a sense in which it is living in the time close to the end of the world. And in a sense this happens, because every generation sees a certain type of deterioration, and certain rotting away of things which it holds dear, and which it holds as precious.
In the reading today, Jesus talks about the sun, the moon, the stars, the waves, the heavens. But also we see the distress of the nations in perplexity, people fainting with fear.
In some sense, we see that there a lot of people in distress, many people are worn out. One of the promises of technology is that things will be more convenient, and people will be able to do things faster, but what it means in actual fact is that more things are expected of people, and so people work faster and faster. There was an old pastor in Christian in history who said, “Every time we step forward in technology, without a step forward in morals, is a step backward.” (John Henry Newman: Every technological progress without moral progress is a regress.)
But anyway, we’re living in a time of great distress. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice this. We’re living in a time a place where there are high levels of depression, there is a great amount of violence in homes, and where youth suicide is high.
And what do we make of all this?
Jesus says, “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
He calls himself the Son of Man to make clear to us that he is a human being, the real man who suffered and died on the cross – but also, he wants to make it clear to us that he is truly God, because he is coming with power and great glory. So much power and glory that he needs to be hidden from our eyes through a cloud.
But this doesn’t give us much comfort at this point. We know that when things are in such a bad way, then Jesus will come. And he will come and bring it all to an end. He will come and say, “Right, that’s it, folks! I’ve had enough. It’s time to call it a day. You’ve had you’re chance. I’m going to finish it off, now. I’m going to wrap it up.”
But here’s the surprise, here’s the thing that Jesus needs to tell us, otherwise we wouldn’t know. He says:
When these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
Straighten up? What? Raise your heads? What?
Most people would look at the world falling into chaos and say, “The world’s being punished. We all need to grovel.”
But instead, Jesus says, “Straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Your salvation is drawing near, the resurrection of your body is drawing near, the end of all pain and suffering is drawing near, eternal life is drawing near.
When these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
When Jesus speaks, and when Jesus opens his mouth, he says things that we would have no idea of knowing otherwise if he didn’t say them.
Jesus wants us to notice these signs in our reading today, and to notice that they are signs of his coming. But we don’t want to misread them! We want to make sure that we understand what these signs are for!
When there is strange things happening in the world, this is not a sign that God has abandoned the world. It is a sign that Jesus is coming to bless the world!
Where there is sadness and depression in the world, this is not a sign that they have been left out in the cold by God. In fact, quite the opposite! It is a sign that God has visited them, at that Jesus is drawing near to them.
Where there is breakdown of society, sorrow, anguish, heartbreak, this is not a sign that God has walked out on them. It is a sign that Jesus is close by, that he is there walking among people, healing people, forgiving people.
When at some point in your life, you realise that you are sinner, and that you realise that you have not lived the life you should have, this is not a sign that God hates you, but that he loves you, because otherwise he wouldn’t have allowed you know yourself is this way, to prepare you to receive his great gifts—the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
When these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
We need to be strengthened continually in Jesus’ words, because otherwise we simply wouldn’t know these things.
If Jesus hadn’t said that baptism now saves us, and that he wanted the church to make disciples of all nations by baptising people and teaching people, then we really wouldn’t know. We would think that baptism is just an empty useless ceremony which can easily be replaced by another. But Jesus tells us, Jesus reveals to us, that baptism is a powerful gift, with the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in it. Straighten up and raise your heads!
If Jesus hadn’t said that his words are spirit and life, and that he wanted the church to forgive people their sins, then we really wouldn’t know. We would think that when all this talk is going on in church, that it’s all just more words in an already wordy world, more information in a time with too much information. But Jesus tell us, that when you hear the words of forgiveness spoken to you, that these words actually forgive you. God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Straighten up and raise your heads!
If Jesus hadn’t said that the Lord’s Supper actually is his body and blood, and that it is given for you and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins, then you really wouldn’t know. We would think that it is just a bit of bread and wine, just like any other bit of bread of wine. But Jesus says, this is the heart and centre of the church, and then when you come to the Lord’s table, and then when you receive the bread and wine, that what you are receiving is the body of Christ given for you and the blood of Christ shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Straighten up and raise your heads!
And if you had a look around the church you wouldn’t think that this group is God’s saints on earth (no offense!!). And it’s not your job to look at yourself and judge what sort of a saint you are. If you look at your own life and say, “I’ve lived a good life!” you’re wrong, and you’re dishonest! But it’s God’s job to look at your life and say, “I love this person! I have sent my Son to die for you! And I have spoken my word of forgiveness to you, and I am the one who tells you what you don’t otherwise know: that in my eyes, and that through Jesus Christ, you are perfect!”
[And today, as we confirm these young people, this is a day of great joy and great celebration, as God has brought these young people to be blessed and strengthened in the faith, and to lead them to receive the body and blood of Christ for the first time. What a precious thing this is in the sight of God! ]
So listen to the words of Jesus! Learn from him what you can’t learn anywhere else! Listen to his words of encouragement to you today, words of hope, words of joy, words which bless you, words which build you up, words which strengthen you. Straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near! Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, bless us this day, with everything that we need. As we see so much suffering and sadness around us, help us to trust in you and your coming. Send us the Holy Spirit, to strengthen us and to comfort us, and to open our ears to your living and powerful words of salvation and hope. Amen.
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