Populus Zion

The season of Christmas seems to start earlier every year. Have you noticed that? I’m sure you have. My wife went to the store last week to get some Christmas decorations, almost a month in advance, and she came back complaining that nearly everything was already gone. Some of the older folks here may remember a time when the Christmas tree went up on Christmas Eve when the season of Christmas began. Not anymore. Now Christmas starts before Thanksgiving, and all the merchants are committed to helping you celebrate.

What is it that the world is celebrating? Certainly not Christ. No, the world hates Christ. This is a fact. Jesus said to his disciples, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me first” (Jn 15:18). The world loves Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, and Rudolf the reindeer, but it has no use for the Christ who comes to take away the sin of the world. Each year we sing, “Let every heart prepare him room.” Many people prepare rooms in their homes for the relatives. They prepare a place in the living room for the Christmas tree. They prepare room on their schedules and in their budgets for the time and expenses of Christmas. They prepare room in their bellies for all the eating and drinking that is to come. But what about preparing room for Christ?

This is what the season of Advent is meant to be about, but who has time for Advent? In our culture of instant gratification, we’d rather skip over this season of delayed joy and preparation. Advent doesn’t move merchandise. Repentance doesn’t sell stocking stuffers. The world can tolerate Jesus, the sleeping baby in a manger, but it has no use for Jesus, the righteous Judge who comes in power and glory. But we should pay attention to Advent. It’s not just a season of the church year. It’s a promise and a warning. The Day of the Lord is coming. The dark night of sin is almost over. The dawn approaches. It might seem like things will continue on as they always have, but they won’t.

Two things are certain about the Day of Judgment: One, it is coming. Christ has promised, and his word cannot be broken. Two, it will unexpectedly. Many will not be prepared. The end will come, Jesus says, “suddenly like a trap” (Lk 21:34). Imagine the terror of the ungodly and unbelievers when they see an angry Judge above them, the jaws of hell beneath them, their own sins to their right, the accusing devil to their left, a burning world before them, and an evil conscience within them. People will be fainting with fear and foreboding at the things coming upon the inhabited world (Lk 21:26).

When we picture the unbelievers, it’s easy to think of the militant atheist who curses and shakes his fist at the notion of God. But he’s actually the exception. The majority of unbelievers are what we might call functional atheists. These people don’t deny the existence of God with their mouths. In fact, they might even confess some sort of belief in God or at least a higher power. But they live as if God doesn’t exist. They don’t heed the warning that the return of Christ is near. All their time and effort is spent on earthly pursuits: eating, drinking, and being given in marriage, or perhaps, skipping the marriage part and being given in lust. Some people like to think that man is just a highly-evolved animal. This is not true. We alone in creation are made in the image of God. We are physical and spiritual beings. But when men and women abandon spiritual things and concern themselves only with food, drink, reproduction, and lining their nests with shiny trinkets, then they are behaving as if they are no more than animals.

It’s easy to fall into this trap so Jesus warns his church, “Watch yourselves let your hearts be weighed down with carousing and drunkenness and the cares of daily life” (Lk 21:34). There’s always something to worry about. We’re surrounded by many troubles in life. Think of the thing you were most concerned about last week. Now ask yourself this question: How much will that problem, which took up so much of your mental energy this week, matter to you in five years? In twenty years? In eternity? As Christians we need to be reminded that no matter how cozy things might seem in our earthly dwellings, this is not our home. We are citizens of Christ’s kingdom and our King is returning soon.

Why does Christ warn against over-eating and drunkenness? Certainly there are other sins to watch out for. Yes, but these are the sins of complacency. As it was in the days of Noah, they were eating and drinking… and then they were destroyed suddenly without warning. So will be the coming of the Son of Man. Often the mouth says, “Thy kingdom come,” but the heart says, “Thy kingdom not come,” or, “Thy kingdom not come yet.” When the heart gets hung up on temporal things and makes these its chief treasure, how can it cling to Christ, the true Treasure? As the end drew near for St. Paul, he wrote to Timothy, “Now there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Tim 4:8).

We do not fear the coming of Christ. Instead, we long for his appearing. That’s why Christ taught us to pray this way: “Thy Kingdom come,” and, “deliver us from evil.” In these words we pray that the Lord Christ would hurry up with His Final Coming and put an end to all the misfortune and tribulation in this world. On that day, though all the world around us is fainting with fear, Jesus tells you, “Lift up your head!” Rejoice! “Your redemption is drawing near.”

What does this mean, redemption? You have been bought by the blood of Christ on his cross. You are a child of God. You have been given the Holy Spirit. But there’s one thing the Holy Spirit doesn’t do, not in this life. He doesn’t purge us entirely of our sin. It’s always present within us, even after baptism. As long as you are on earth, you must strive against the lust of the flesh, and against this sinful world to the point that you will often be tired and exhausted. And so we long for that day when our redemption from sin is completed at last. Anyone who doesn’t desire this redemption doesn’t yet know what sin is. But when the Law of God has revealed the depth of your corruption, you await the coming of Christ as a bride awaits the coming of her groom. Indeed, the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22:17).

His coming is terror for some and wonderful freedom for others. This terrible day is a comfort to all believers. How so? Because on this day you will be redeemed at last from every evil. This is the day that Jesus says to you, “Do not let my power and glory terrify you. It is not against you but for you. Behold, now your cross and misery are ended. The winter of sin is over. Your struggle against the sinful nature is finished. The good and perfect work that I began within you is completed at last. The new day has come.”

The night of sin grows darker with each passing day but do not let your heart be troubled. Instead, we should think every day, “Christ is going to appear for Judgment now.” Our Lord says, “Behold! I come as a thief in the night; blessed is the one who watches and stays dressed, so that he does not wander around naked on that day” (Rev 16:15). So then, let us not sleep like others do. Instead, let us watch and be sober; for those who sleep, they sleep in the night; and those who are drunk, are drunk in the night (1 Thes 5:6-8). The night of sin is almost over. The Day of our Lord is at hand. Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen.

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