The days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will fulfill the promise
I made to the house of Israel and Judah.
In those days, in that time,
I will raise up for David a just shoot ;
he shall do what is right and just in the land.
In those days Judah shall be safe
and Jerusalem shall dwell secure;
this is what they shall call her:
“The LORD our justice.”
R. (1b) To you, O Lord, I lift
my soul. Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
and for you I wait all the day. R. To you, O Lord, I lift my
soul. Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way. R. To you, O Lord, I lift my
soul. All the paths of the LORD are kindness and
constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction. R. To you, O Lord, I lift my
soul.
Brothers
and sisters:
May the Lord make you increase and abound in love
for one another and for all,
just as we have for you,
so as to strengthen your hearts,
to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.
Amen.
Finally,
brothers and sisters,
we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that,
as you received from us
how you should conduct yourselves to please God
and as you are conducting yourselves
you do so even more.
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord
Jesus.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon 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.
But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.
“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.
For that day will assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Today we
start to tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth, that wonderful
human being, that Son of God, called by so many of us as
Christ, the anointed one. The chosen one. This story has
been told again and again, year after year, for over two
thousand years. That is one of the reasons he remained with
us and lives with us. It is not the only reason. It might
seem strange that we began his story with his announcement
of the end of this world.
He speaks
about a sun that is fading away, about stars losing their
shine. He speaks about an end that will unavoidably come,
and in this world, in this country, in this day time, there
is much to be discussed about that. He speaks about women
and men at a total and final loss.
Why do we
start telling about the end? But, folks, my friends,
brothers and sisters, is not every story that’s about the
end also a story about a beginning? Isn’t the last day
always the dawn of a new day to come? Isn’t a last look at
the past, at the house we leave, at the dead we bury, always
followed by a look into the future, at the things to come?
When Jesus
speaks about the end in this scripture text, he is thinking
of a world that is going to disappear. The world of
corruption and sin, hatred and violence, jealousy and greed,
war and murder we all know so very well, and a world and
especially in this country of our today, a place where the
name of God is mocked, denied, avoided, and refused to be
the basis of all laws that we live by; as it surrounds us
like a second skin.
When Jesus
speaks about the end of the world, he is foretelling the new
world to come, a better one, a different one: The Kingdom
of God, in which we will be changed. Some call this only a
dream, and they are wrong. They have no hope. Others hold
that he only meant the new heaven to come. They, too,
neutralize what he really said and meant by adding things
like: “That end will come in four years’ time, in five
years maybe, but surely by the year 2019 or 2020.” Those
prophets of doom say that God will finish this world in
all-ending wrath, burning it away.
Is that
what he meant when he said: “The new Kingdom is among you?
Is that what he meant when he said: “God out into the world
and preach, baptizing it in the name of the Father, and the
Son, and Holy Spirit?” Is that what he meant when he broke
his bread and shared his wine in that upper room there, to
share like that all through this world remembering him here
and now? He not only spoke of a new heaven to come. He
also spoke about a new world to be formed: A world
recreated in his Spirit and given to us by his Spirit.
So folks,
let us break up. The dark is almost over, the dawn is very
near. You see, all of that stuff that is going on that is
not of God in our world, in our country, they are the dark
Jesus talked about. Though perhaps they believe that a new
world order is coming, but in reality, that new world that
they speak of, is not of this world. So now you should take
comfort in knowing that God, like always before, is in
control of the world that he created, and that he will take
care of that darkness that is to end. We do not know how.
For those of us who believe, we not need to know. Thank you
and God bless. It is my prayer that this message was
meaningful to you. Have a great week ahead.
