In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze (Mal. 4:1). They will suffer and be terrified, because during this life they lived as if they were the only ones who mattered.
They didn’t look evil. They loved their families and they loved Christmas. They watched It’s a Wonderful Life every year and when they hear “God bless America” they shed a tear. But they didn’t love Jesus, not the real Jesus, not the Jesus who said things like: “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me” (Luke 9:23), and, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). These people will see the signs of the End, but it will be too late. The signs of the End will be for them nothing but impending doom and total destruction.
Repent. That’s what the just God requires of us. We are the wicked. What was written in Holy Scripture was written for our instruction, and yet we do not live in harmony or in hope. We live for ourselves. We think it’s admirable, that it’s impressive that we love our families and those who already love us, but that’s no different from the way unbelievers live. Loving Christmas and decorations, loving your Grandma, and loving your country does not make you a Christian. Repent. If we were judged by our lives, by our works, if we were judged by what we love, then we would be destroyed like stubble in a fire.
The great and terrible Day of the Lord is coming. But for those who have joy in Christ now, that Day will be pure joy! Our Lord Jesus points out what’s going on in the world now. His words point to politics and climate change, violent crime and loss of civil liberties. They point to wars and they remind us that sometimes bombs rain down on young sailors and soldiers on a quiet Sunday morning in Hawaii. In all these things, we see the End. In disasters, both natural and manmade, in simple burdens like being the target of gossip, we see that this world cannot endure. But Jesus doesn’t want to turn us into Chicken Little, running and screaming in panic. Our Lord says, “When these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Our redemption—our Jesus—is drawing near. Rejoice!
Look at the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, in the earth and sea, even in your own life. Look at the cross you’re bearing, at the death surrounding you, and see beautiful blossoms and rainbows. Even these terrible signs must serve God and so also serve you. They point you to God’s grace and promises. They are ushering in something new: everlasting peace, the end of all war, the utter defeat of death. On that Day that is coming, your enemies will be no more. Sin will lose all its appeal. Temptation will have no power. There will be no one to accuse you or hurt you. And the good work that the Lord has begun in you will be completed. You will be justified with Christ’s righteousness as you are now, but you will also be actually holy in all your own thoughts, words, and deeds. Creation itself will rejoice to see you revealed as a child of God. And you will rejoice. You will be glad, because the kingdom of God will come to you and will never be taken away.
For now, you suffer. You know many hardships, most of them secret, in your heart and mind. But you endure with faith and prayer, by the power of the Word and the Sacrament, waiting for the Day of the Lord’s appearing—the culmination of your hope. Because then, at last, the wrath of God will completely pass over you, not harming you, because you are marked with the blood of the Lamb. Your Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, He is with you. He’s on your side. He loves you. And He is coming back to get you. This is not the End that any of us deserve, but it is the End that He has promised, the End that He has won for us.
However, the only way for there to be joy on the Last Day, when our Lord Jesus comes in glory and judgment, is if there is joy now. The Lord, who came to us by the Virgin in order to lay down His life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world and to take His life back up again as a victory over death and hell, that same Lord comes to us now in His holy Word and Sacrament. He comes in this way so that even now, while you’re still stuck with your sinful flesh and afflicted with doubt; even now, while you still tramp through this valley of sorrow, you may have joy, even now.
And if the Lord comes now and makes you God’s child, His people, His temple; if He visits you in this painful, sad, and broken world despite your sins and He does not turn away from your shame, but He comes to cover you and protect you; if by His Word He declares you righteous and holy now, then there is nothing to fear on the Last Day, and certainly, there is much to rejoice about. Because if He comes now in grace and mercy just as He has promised, then He will come on the Last Day in the same way—in grace and mercy. The only difference will be that then His grace and mercy will be visible and with power. Then your Baptism will be brought to completion. And no sorrows will cling to you, but all will be replaced with unbreakable joy.
This is why Jesus gives us the parable of the fig tree. How wonderful to hear this parable especially at this time of year, when all around us the trees are teaching us the way of all flesh. Everything is gray and bare and dead. This world is ending. But the parable of the fig tree turns our thoughts on the end of the world upside down. While one thing is ending, a new thing is coming. The signs of disaster and impending doom are good signs for believers, like trees coming out in leaf. And the fruit will not be far behind. The Last Day is not our winter, but our summer! This is also why at Christmas we use evergreens to decorate. Faith stands in contrast to what the eyes see. While everything looks like death and destruction, faith sees the fig tree coming out in leaf.
And you know what buds and blossoms and ripening fruit means: summer is coming! So also, look at this altar and see more signs of life: the buds and fruit of Jesus’ body and blood. See it also in His Word, in His Absolution, and in His Baptism. The Lord visits you now. The crucified and risen Lord comes to you in your hour of need, for your sake and for your good. The world is evil, and you are surrounded by danger, temptation, and injustice. But Jesus is faithful. He has ascended but He has not abandoned you.
His coming now in the Word and Sacrament shows that summer is on its way. The winter will end. He has not forgotten you. His Word is the fig tree that foreshows the End. His body and blood are the foretaste of the great feast to come. You are redeemed, washed clean and clothed in the blood of the Lamb. You are ready for the End. So, straighten up and raise your heads. Rejoice.
Come quickly + Lord Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Trinity, Clinton, IA & Immanuel, Charlotte, IA
Most of this comes from Rev. David Petersen, Advent 2 in God with Us, p.24–26.
