Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Sermon - 23rd Sunday after Pentecost - Matthew 25:1-13


Amos 5:18-24
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13
"The Day of the Lord"

Welcome to the last three Sundays of the church calendar, in which our attention is turned to the last things, the end times, the second coming of Christ and the kingdom to come.  We know that history has an end.  There is a day on God’s calendar – circled in red.  We don’t know when it will be, but he has promised us this sinful, fallen, broken-down world will not go on like this forever. 

Our readings for today each take a different look at that day.  Let’s take a look at each of them for a better picture of just what’s in store on that day, that final day, the Day of the Lord.

But the Day of the Lord can mean not only the Last Day (as in, THE Last Day).  It can also mean the day in which the Lord acts, decisively, in judgment and mercy.  In some sense Good Friday was the Day of the Lord – the day in which Christ acted to secure and guarantee the victory for us all by his cross.  The Day of the Lord, the day in which God acts, might be the day in which he comes again in glory.  It’s similar to the way John the Baptist and Jesus himself speak about the “Kingdom of God” being at hand.  The reign and rule of God is about to happen – God’s about to do something.  So sit up and pay attention!

The Day of the Lord, in this sense, can be different depending on the hearer.  And certainly, also, in a sense, it can mean, for each of us, the day of our death.  The day in which we meet our Maker.  And the Day of the Lord was the same day – but it was certainly experienced as a very different day, but the wise and the foolish virgins in our Gospel reading.  We’ll get there in a just a few moments.

First, let’s take Amos, then.  The prophet Amos was a bearer of bad news during the time of the divided kingdom, a prophet from the south, with a message of doom and gloom for the people of the north. 

Amos comes to disabuse them of a false sense of security.  They were looking forward to a day – a day of deliverance – a day of victory – the Day of the Lord.  Their enemies the Assyrians were looming large, a wicked and brutal empire that threatened destruction.  But they felt quite secure, because, hey – they were doing all the right things.  Outwardly, anyway, their religion was tip-top.  All the right sacrifices.  All the right festivals.  All the important observances.  But there was a problem.  Their heart wasn’t in it.  It was all for show.  They worshipped in vain.  They didn’t truly believe.

We are tempted to the same, aren’t we?  A great church with a brand new organ and reverent ceremonies and no-nonsense liturgical worship.  A beautiful sanctuary and regular services every Sunday.  Outwardly, it might look like we too are doing all the right things.  But then we could look a little closer.  We could peer inside the heart.  Take a look inside your own.

The first table of God’s law accuses us here.  We do have other gods, don’t we, that take the place of the true God.  We let other things take his place in our life.  Maybe it’s money or possessions.  Maybe it’s our own status or our creature comforts.  Maybe it’s even our politics.  Where do we truly place our fear, love, and trust?  And if those other things should be taken away – those false gods ripped from us – what is left for us but despair?

And so Amos says to the Israelites, “oh, you’re looking forward to the Day of the Lord, are you? Well you shouldn’t!  Because it’s not going to turn out the way you think it will!”  You may escape the lion, only to run into the bear.  You may make it out of the frying pan, only to fall into the fire.  You can’t escape God’s judgment.  The wages of sin is death.

And sure enough, the prophet knows best.  History bears out.  The Assyrians do come, and they do destroy, pillage, murder and disperse the Israelites.  The land is laid waste. God’s day of judgment for them could not be avoided, any more than an sinner can avoid the final day of wrath – apart from Christ.

Far better to heed the prophetic word and repent.  Far better to rend our hearts and be disabused of complacency and false comfort.  For then the healing balm of the Gospel is applied.  Then the soothing comfort of Christ’s mercy does its work.  Then the true problem is addressed, the sin is forgiven, and death and despair give way to life and hope.

The Day of the Lord.  We shouldn’t rest in our own merits and look forward to that day with a false sense of security.  Nor should we grow complacent and neglectful of the true worship of repentance and faith in Christ.  We ought not despair of that day as if we are stuck in our sins with no recourse.  But in Christ we can look forward to the day – the final Day of the Lord in joy and hope and peace. 

That’s how Paul describes the end in his letter to the Thessalonians.  Paul gives us words to “encourage one another”.  And boy do they.  He especially teaches us that the Christians who have fallen asleep are not gone forever – but that their death is like a sleep – in that they will awake, arise, and live.  When Christ comes again in glory with the angelic shout and trumpet call of God – the dead in Christ will rise, and we also will be changed.  Our bodies will be glorified and made ready for eternity, ready to meet Christ.  And so we will meet him in the air, and be with him forever.

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?  Could it be any more stark a contrast between Amos’ view of the Day of the Lord?  For the ancient Israelites – the Day of the Lord was a death they should dread.  For Christians who receive the comfort of Paul – the Day of the Lord couldn’t be pictured any better!  We get to be with our loved ones who have fallen asleep in Christ.  And even better, we all get to be with Jesus.  Now there is some encouragement.

And Jesus himself both encourages and warns us about that day – with his parable of the 10 virgins.  They are all waiting, waiting for the bridegroom to arrive – and when he does, the party will begin!  They are waiting – but it seems like forever, the hour grows late, and so they fall asleep.  But then he comes – suddenly – and only some are found ready – ready with their oil, ready to go in and join the feast.  The foolish virgins have to go on a wild goose chase for oil, and then never get in to the banquet anyway – the door is shut.  The bridegroom doesn’t know them.  They’re left out, shut out, and so they miss out on all the fun.

Now, we could try and peg every element of this parable down – and some have – to one extent or another.  What does the oil stand for?  Who are the wise and the unwise virgins?  Where do they buy the oil?  (and if oil is faith can you really purchase it?)  Who are the oil-dealers?  And what does it mean that all fell asleep but only some had oil?  Instead of getting bogged down in all the details, this kind of parable is better understood with particular attention to the main point of Jesus:  the greater point which he provides at the end of his story – “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Watchfulness.  A key quality for the wise Christian.  Watching for the bridegroom, Jesus Christ, who has promised to return – but unexpectedly.  Like a thief in the night.  Watching, for he can come at any time, on any day.  Watching and waiting and being prepared for his second advent.

But how do we watch and prepare?  By doing lots of church?  No, that didn’t work for the Old Testament people – at least not in and of itself.  Religious rites and ceremonies themselves are nothing if they are only outward.  The God who desires mercy, not sacrifice is the Bridegroom who comes looking for repentance and faith!  Now there’s the true readiness, watchfulness, preparedness.  Believing in Jesus.  Now there’s a full lamp – that’ll get you to the party.  The Word of God and the Sacraments prepare us, too – they are the means of grace that create faith in us, that faith by which Christ saves us.  Watchfulness, then, means, particular attention to these things- hearing the word, receiving the gifts.  Not only outwardly, but in true faith.

And then, when the Bridegroom comes, he knows you.  Just as the Good Shepherd knows his sheep and his sheep know him.  So the bridegroom will say to the unwise, “depart from here I don’t even know you” and to the wise, the faithful, the watchful – “come on in, join the party”.

Watch and pray, Christian.  Be faithful, Christian.  Avail yourself of the gifts he gives, Christian.  And so be wise, we watchful, and be ready.

In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

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