The seasons are changing. Technically, winter does not start until the latter part of December. But we could say that in the past week we have experienced a bit of "winter weather." Even though there are specific dates for the beginning and ending of the seasons, it's not unusual to see elements of other seasons in any season of the year.
The same thing is true of the church year. Today is the first Sunday in Advent, but today you will see elements of both the season we just left, "end times" and the season to follow, Christmas. This can get confusing. "Didn't we just talk about the end of the world the last few weeks?" What makes it even more confusing is that for the most part, the world celebrates Christmas (or its version of Christmas) throughout this whole period. In the church year the Christmas season begins on Christmas. In the meantime we celebrate this time called "Advent".
In order to understand this season, it's helpful
to consider the term "advent". This word means "coming".
During Advent we focus on the fact that Jesus, Christ our King is coming. He is
coming, and we normally talk about three ways Jesus comes. Jesus will come again at the end of the world. Jesus came 2000 years ago as a babe in
Even though we speak of three
"advents" of Jesus, having them lumped together into one season called
Advent is helpful because the way we celebrate and observe all three is really
the same. Our text for this morning is speaking of Jesus' coming at the end of
the world. It reminds us that the way to prepare for Christ's coming is to have
good Advent posture. "Lift up your heads." Our Advent posture
reminds to do two things:
II.
Be awake and watchful
In the section of Scripture right
before our text Jesus is speaking with his disciples about the destruction of
But the main event is yet to come. "At
that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great
glory."(27) This too, will be for all the
world to see. Jesus will physically
return to earth, just as the angels said he would when he ascended - in a
cloud, but this time he would come with all the glory and power of God himself,
much different than his first coming.
Even though Jesus is talking to his disciples,
notice that he is really describing the world's reaction to his coming. It is
not a positive reaction. Look at the words he uses "anguish" and
"perplexity";"terror .
Most of the world, especially the unbelieving
world, assumes that life will continue as it always has. The sun comes up every
morning. The moon and stars are predictable.
But for those who have denied the existence of God or given up on Jesus'
return, these signs would quickly show that things will not continue as
normal. The end is coming.
"At that time they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory."(27) When the unbelieving world sees that the end
has come, when they see Jesus coming in the clouds, what else can they do but
be in anguish, perplexity, terror, and apprehension? What else can they do when they can no longer
ignore their conscience and the Word of God?
The world's only natural reaction is to hide its face before the
Almighty Son of God who has come to judge the world.
In the midst of turmoil in the skies and on the
ground, when the reliable things of this world become unreliable, would
Christians react any different? I
imagine that the signs of the end would frighten anyone, even the best of
believers. In those uncertain times, it
could be very easy for anyone to wonder if God has lost control. Even
Christians can be tempted to put their heads down, doubting God's power and his
promise.
"When these things begin to take place,
stand up and lift up your heads"(28) Change
your posture! Stand up! Lift up your
heads! Jesus tells his disciples that when he returns they need not hide their
faces in fear. These signs hold no terror for those who belong to Christ. Then he gives three reasons to change their
posture. "Lift up your heads,
because your redemption is drawing near."(28) Jesus comes to buy them back from sin and
death--so that they might be free! On the cross Jesus paid for all sins. When Jesus returns he will come to release
believers from lives still troubled by sin and its consequences. The time of
their bondage is over.
Secondly, Jesus illustrates with a parable:
"Look at the fig tree and all the trees.
When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer
is near. Even so, when you see these
things happening, you know that the
And finally, for those tempted to wonder if
God's Word might no longer be true when these signs occur, Jesus says, "I
tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all
these things have happened. Heaven and
earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."(32,33) Lift
up your heads with confidence because this generation, this time and age you
know, will not pass away until these things happen. And even more, once this world does pass
away, what will remain is the Word which Jesus has spoken.
Even though Jesus here is speaking of the signs
at the very end of the world, it is pretty easy to see other, general signs
that the end may come at any time. We know that Jesus could return at any time.
As we see this world changing, so often for the worse, we could always be tempted to get our heads down. As we witness disasters of one sort or another, we may be tempted to think that God has less control over his world. As we watch the world becoming more obviously and outwardly sinful, as we see churches in decline, as we see, even in Christian churches, a rejection of what God clearly says in his Word--we could very easily wonder if God's Word maybe doesn't really apply anymore. And if we doubt God's Word, doubting God's salvation would quickly follow. If God's Word is not true, applicable, powerful and effective, then we have every reason to hide our faces until Christ returns.
But
lift up your heads.
Lift them up in confidence and courage.
Know that God's kingdom is near.
Know that God's Word will never pass away. Lift up your head to watch your Savior come
for you, for your redemption, your freedom.
In the last two verses of our text Jesus turns his
attention to his disciples' spiritual posture as they wait for his return. "Be
careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and
the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.
For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the
whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to
escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before
the Son of
First, Jesus warns his disciples against dissipation and drunkenness. Actually, the word translated "dissipation" refers to the state someone is in when they are drunk. It could refer to the dizziness or loss of balance that happens. In the same breath Jesus mentions a second thing: "the anxieties of life." Both the anxieties of life and drunkenness keep heads down. The drunk man needs to watch his feet so he doesn't trip on them. The person running back and forth, wrapped up in life's hectic pace has his mind and attention on just that, the anxieties of life.
The anxieties of life and drunkenness, as well
as all pursuits in life that have their focus on what's going on now, what I
need to be doing, what makes me feel good can bring a person's head down. It
makes them so dizzy, from watching their feet to turning from side to side,
that they can't keep their heads up. They can't watch and prepare for Christ's
coming.
A third way Jesus says people could get their
heads down he expressed in the positive. Jesus says "be always on the
watch."(36) The person who has his head down is not on the watch, but
like a student in a boring afternoon class, his head starts to fall, drooping
until he is sound asleep. Maybe he feels it's not worth staying awake for.
Maybe he knows it all already or he's heard it all before. Maybe it's simply
his tired flesh pulling that head down.
Jesus says "watch" and
"pray" so that when he comes his disciples won't be caught with their
heads down. Watch and pray so that day does not close upon you like a trap, but
rather, so that at the end you can stand before the Son of Man.
Jesus is not suggesting here that our own
watchfulness can give us the right to stand before him on the last day. No, on
our own we would be forced to lower our heads, ashamed of the things we have
done. We know that the only way we can stand is because of the forgiveness of
sins that is in Christ Jesus. Jesus does warn us here not to take our eyes off
him, but to lift up our heads.
In this brand new church year we will once again
walk through the life of our Savior Jesus Christ. As we do that, we hear again the story of our
Savior's life, death, resurrection--all so that we may
lift up our heads before God. If there
are times when this story isn't what it used to be, or if there are times when
there seem to be so many other things in life that deserve your time and
attention, remember that it is in hearing the message of Jesus' coming, in the
message of Jesus' life for you that we are reminded again and again to lift up
our heads! It reminds us that we can be confident and courageous before God. It motivates us to be awake and watchful. The message of Advent, the gospel lifts up
our heads.
I said before that Advent was for preparing for
the advent of Jesus. Yet it could also
be said that the whole year, even our whole life is a time for preparing for
Advent. Each day is a day to recall that Christ came to be one of us at Christmas. Every day is a day to appreciate how Jesus
comes to us over and over again in Word and Sacrament. Every day is a day to
anticipate and watch for Jesus' return.
During this Advent season, and always, keep your good Advent posture. Lift up your heads! Amen.