First Sunday in Advent - Series C
December 2, 2012 - Pastor Adam Moline
]Jeremiah 33:14-16 1
Thessalonians 3:9-13 Luke 21:25-36
Grace, mercy and peace to you
from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text today comes from the Gospel lesson just read, especially these
words, “pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and
that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Thus far our text today.
Dear friends in Christ. We are at the first Sunday in Advent. We anxiously await the coming of Jesus, who
for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was made man,
born of the virgin Mary. He’s
coming. He’ll be here soon. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly is our prayer.
And as we await the coming of
Jesus, our text hearkens back to the last few weeks. Our text focuses on Christ’s coming, not as a
baby born of the Virgin, but on clouds, with judgment. Our text looks to Christ’s second coming,
when he will justly and rightly bring this sinful world to its end, when he
will call the dead from their graves, and lead all Christians to heaven, and
leave the rest to eternity in Hell.
Come Lord Jesus is still our
prayer. As Christians we look forward to
the end of the world, because we know for us in the faith it means our
rescue. It means taking us out of this
world. When Jesus comes, everything will
be made right for us.
For you see, when Jesus comes,
sin will be brought to its end. Those
who lie, gossip, bicker, and fight will be destroyed. Those who murder, or kill, or hurt other
lives, their lives will be called into account.
Those who steal, cheat, rob, or borrow without permission will have
their lives taken. Those who sin in any
way, despise preaching and the word, those who curse, and swear, they themselves
will face the judgment of sin. And most
importantly, and most dreadfully, those who did not fear, love or trust in God
will face his eternal wrath. When he
comes, every knee will bow, and those in sin will realize the deadly and
eternal consequences for that sin.
But wait just a minute pastor,
that’s not really good news for us is it?
Because I’ve sinned. I’ve fallen
short. I’ve done what I know I shouldn’t
have. I’ve stolen and swore. What is going to happen to me when Christ
returns. What’s going to be my fate,
because if sinners are destroyed, I am destroyed.
Dear baptized, fear not. For in the Christ who has come, and will come
again with Judgment, you have been washed.
You have been cleansed in his blood.
Yes you sin, but you are also perfectly holy in Christ’s
righteousness.
You belong to him. You were claimed in baptism. You were branded and marked as belonging to
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. He has saved you, in a washing of rebirth and
renewal, that connects you directly to Christ on the cross for sin. You see, dear friends, you have already
died. You have already faced punishment
for your sins, as you hung with Jesus on the cross through baptism. And in that gift, you are promised to one day,
“Be with him forever in paradise.”
But Pastor, my baptism was so
long ago, I don’t even remember it, I was a baby who didn’t know up from down.
Dear friends, your baptism was
not based upon your memory of it, or your ability to reason. It was based on God’s promise. And to strengthen that faith created in you,
you are fed on a regular basis with the very living body and blood that died
and rose again. Jesus comes to you in
the flesh already today, hidden in bread and wine for the forgiveness of your
sins. So when Christ returns again in
glory, it will not be a "gotcha" moment, but a joyful reunion with
the one who won you with his one death for your sin. When Christ returns, you will bow before him,
not in fear, but in honor and love. And
he will then take you by the hand, lift you up, and greet you.
So we can do as today’s text
says, “pray that you may
be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to
stand before the Son of Man.” And as we
pray it we know that we will be safe. We
will escape, only in the blood of Christ.
We will stand, as a dear brother and sister of Christ. We pray, Come Lord Jesus, take me home. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.
