November
24th, 2013
Last
Sunday of the Church Year
Luke
23:27-43
“Last
Words”
It
is the last Sunday in the church year, and as such the “last
things” take center stage. Today, especially, the Gospel reading sets before us some “last words”.
I
sometimes wonder what my last words will be. You know, will they be
a fond farewell with my family gathered around my bedside, before I
peacefully drift off in the sleep of death. Or will it be something
far more mundane, like, “what's for dinner?” or “good night,
love you too”?
People
are often remembered for their last words – especially when they
know they are going to be their last words. It's a last chance to
say what is really, really important. Some words of wisdom. Some
well-wish for those you care about.
I
remember being at the deathbed of one of our elders, who was dying of
cancer. He was fairly lucid up until the end. The doctors told him,
“say your goodbyes. You have hours left, maybe a day.” Amazing.
And I watched as his family came to say their goodbyes, and he gave
his final words to them – words that encouraged them to remain in
the faith. I thought to myself, that's how I'd like to go.
Last
words. Moses speaks some last words in Deuteronomy. He had
traveled with the Israelites for 40 years, and he knew the farewell
was hastening. As he would not join them in Canaan. But he spoke
last words to them, words to remember, before they parted. In fact
the whole book of Deuteronomy is just that – Moses' farewell
sermon. We might sum it up, “man does not live by bread alone, but
man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” In
other words – Moses' last words were a reminder to the keep hold of
the Word of the Lord. We usually hear this reading on Thanksgiving
Day, by the way.
Moses
would direct us to follow the law. After all, it was Moses who
received the ten commandments on Mt. Sinai – and wrote them in
Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. And these ten commandments leave us
with no word of answer regarding our sin. They always have the last
word. Do you think you don't covet? Do you think you haven't
stolen? Do you really, really have no other gods?
We
have no words of excuse. We have no words to free ourselves. We
have nothing to say in the face of God's law, except to confess that
what it says of us is true. Like David, we could say, “I have
sinned against God and man.” No lie will stand, no mitigating
circumstances will help our case. The soul that sins shall perish.
The wages of sin – death.
But
the law of God, while an important word, is not the last word. Even
for Moses, he directed the people also to the works and promises of
God. Remembering, in word, what he has done throughout their history
to bring about their salvation. And looking forward, trusting in the
promises, of the even greater salvation that was one day to come.
Then
there's Jesus. His last words – well, his last words before death
– are often a focus of Christian meditation. 7 Words from the
cross, two of them in our reading from Luke today - “Father forgive
them...” and “Today you'll be with me in paradise”. Whole
sermons have been and should be preached on these last words of our
Lord. But not just because they are some of his last – but because
they are his words. And man does not live by bread alone, but by
every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Speaking
of bread, that might take us to some other last words of Jesus –
the words of his last will and testament. The words of the Lord's
Supper. Take, eat, this is my body... Take drink, this is my blood.
Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins. Do this as
often as you drink of it in remembrance of me. Here, the last words
of Jesus are established as an ongoing testament and a mysterious
application of the forgiveness he won at the cross. These words,
they continue to be spoken, in his stead and by his command – when
his servants continue to administer his gifts to his people.
For
Jesus, his word of forgiveness is the last word on our sin. There
are no contingencies. There is no small print. And there's no
taking back that word. There's no chance in hell or in heaven that
he will ever throw your past sins in your face. For those sins are
gone, and they have been, when he spoke the last word on them: “It
is finished”. It is the end. Of sin, of guilt, of death.
Oh,
no, death doesn't have the last word on Jesus either. In his
resurrection he destroys the power death holds over us, too. He is
the firstborn of the dead, as Colossians says, in whom we too are
delivered from darkness.
And
yet in another way, even that isn't the last word he has for us. For
on this last Sunday of the church year we are reminded once again to
look to the future. To look forward to a day when he comes again in
glory, to judge the living and the dead. To look forward, trusting
in his word, that he will come back to take us to be with him
forever. Looking forward, to a resurrection like his, when we will
see him as he is, yes in our flesh, with our own eyes, see God, our
Redeemer.
How
about that for having the last word.
I'm
not one to usually quote John Lennon, but he once said, “Everything
will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.”
Well
them man who imagined a world without religion got many things wrong.
But here he was on to something, in spite of himself. Still he
forgot the last words - “in Christ.”
In
Christ, everything will be okay in the end. Some of the last words
of the bible paint the picture beautifully. No more pain, no more
suffering, God himself wiping every tear from our eyes. I'll take
those last words. And know that no matter what the law says about my
sins. And no matter what death does to me. And no matter what other
words are spoken by or to or about me – Jesus Christ has the last
word. A word of forgiveness, life and salvation. A word of peace
and comfort. A word of hope. A word.. for you.
Believe
it for Jesus' sake. Amen.