Last Sunday of the Church Year

My Brothers and sisters in Christ we have come the end of the Church year, and that is why on this Sunday our readings point ahead to the end of all things, and urge us to stay awake and sober. Not becoming drunk while it is day, or to fall asleep while there is yet still light in the sky. For the Lord will return and He will return in all power and majesty and might to bring this world to an end.

Now our epistle lesson starts off by saying concerning the times and seasons brothers, what does that mean? Well in 2 Timothy we hear what some of what will happen in the end times,

2 Timothy 3:1–5 ESV

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Now this is just one of the places that Scriptures talk about the end of all things, and after reading that list you might realize that describes our present day quite well. But it is not only in our days, this has been the pattern for the world for a very long time, and it should not surprise us for Jesus tells us that we are living in the end times in the last chapter of Matthew.

This is why the disciples anticipated that Jesus would come back in their lifetime for they saw all these signs as well. That is why the Scriptures say that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, the possibility is ever there, but you don’t know when. Because if you knew that a thief was coming what would you do? Would you get drunk before they arrived? Would you go to sleep? No you would be vigilant watching for the thief.

This is why all Christians are urged to not fall asleep but to remember what Christ has said, that He will come back. We are not in the darkness of sin to be surprised by the return of Christ, but rather we ought to be awake ready for His coming. For we no longer belong to the darkness of sin that engulfs the world, but we have been brought into the Light of Christ which has enlightened even the Gentiles.

But the world will be asleep to the coming of Christ, for the world will not be looking for it, but will be convinced that the world will continue on as it has, and it will come while they imagine that they find themselves in peace and security that there is no danger to them at all. Which is why they will get drunk on their sins, even though the days were increasingly evil, they will comfort themselves with the idea that things are ok and say peace, peace when the end is near even when they hear the door handle start to turn.

Now the Lord is not coming to steal anything from us and so his coming should not cause us dismay, rather we are encouraged and put on the armor that God has given us. The breastplate of faith and love, has been created inside of us by the Holy Spirit, and guards our hearts against despair, and then that helmet of the hope of salvation.

These gifts that God gives to us through the Holy Spirit help us through the dark times. No one looks forward to the difficulty that comes in these dark times, but we know what it means. It isn’t just all pain and sorrow, but we can look to the joy that will follow the suffering and trials of these last days. To live in the last days means that we are ready for Christ to take us to be with him in paradise.

Now this ought to be our default state, for even if we didn’t see the signs of these end times, we are reminded that all people are mortal and that our end is coming. For who amongst us knows the day and hour of our death that we might be called before God. So even if we do not see the Day of the Lord in our life, like all Christians before us, we will be brought before the Throne of God and judged at the time of our death. We don’t want to be rubbing the sleep out of our eyes trying to figure out who that guy is sitting on the throne or so drunk on sins we don’t recognize him. We want to be ready for what does v9 say? For God has not destined, or chosen us, for wrath, but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ.

Now there is a section at the end that might be a bit confusing because he uses sleep to mean a couple of different things. In the first part he refers to who sleep as the sleep of sin, but here at the end of this passage where he says whether we are awake or asleep we live with him. He is referring to the sleep of death.

if you look at the previous chapter, in, 1 Thess 4.14 “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” referring to those who died. This last part is for their hope and encouragement that Christians throughout the centuries have had, as they lay their loved ones in the grave like Christ was laid in the tomb, knowing that Christ will raise them from the dead. You don’t have to be alive when Christ returns to be brought to be with Him. Even the dead will be raised.

This is why in cemeteries you will notice that Christians are buried with their heads in the west. It is a reminder of the hope we have, that when Christ who is the light of the World comes again, that they will rise that they will be looking to the east where sun rises everyday. We bury them in the firm belief that they will be raised again. This was very different from the pagans and their practices who did not believe in the resurrection or the raising of the body and treated it as though it had no value after death.

Now this may sound strange that they are concerned about this, but they were just beginning to learn the faith. Whereas you have the benefit of many teachers and pastors who have laid a good and godly foundation that you may know what is the truth. That being said, not everyone has this knowledge, and it is sad to say that many Christians these days do not know the basics of the faith. But if you read Luther’s preface that isn’t new.

We are to be sober and belong to the day. We ought to know our faith, and to grow in our knowledge of God’s holy Word, this is why it is important that we as Christians be in the Word and know the Word. It is why last week we focused on the shortest verse John 11:35 “Jesus wept.” , and why I encouraged you to read those verses over and over again to know what God’s Word says.

There are many who go through this life idly not thinking much about what they believe or why, but we want to know what we believe. For when we have this knowledge and it can be shared, what does the very final verse say? Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. That building up happens through the Word of God. That is why a good verse to underline and read over and over again this week is 1 Thess 5:9-10 “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.”

For with that knowledge we can comfort friends and family especially as we prepare to gather around the dinner table at thanksgiving. Where places are empty, for those who have died with Christ in Baptism and recieved Christ’s gifts are not gone forever. For Christ will raise them from the dead. The hope of the salvation that we have in Christ, is that He has conquered death for all mankind, and by his resurrection has shown to us what awaits in paradise. That is why we want to know the Word, and know where God has promised these things, for this will not only encourage but also build each other up in that same shared hope.

For when we are scared or in distress it is not easy to remember what it is that God has said, and promised to us, it is why Christ did not call us to be lone Christians, but has made us members of His body, the Church, that we might share this comfort with each other, and that is why we continue to gather, and why too we have meals together like the soup suppers that are coming up. Not only do you get to eat great food, but you also get to spend time with fellow Christians.

So my Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us remember these things especially as we await the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, be it his second coming or when we meet him at the time of our death. May we always be clothed in the armor that He has given to us, and should we see our neighbor start to lay aside their breastplate or helmet, remind them that Christ is coming. We don’t know when, but we want to remain ready and trust in what He has done for us. In Jesus name. Amen.

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