Advent 1 – 2 December 2018 – Year C

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 21^st Chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke: Verses 25 - 38

"And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are 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 things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

And He told them a parable: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  Even so you, too, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.  Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

"Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.  But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

We played a game when I was a young lad.  You may know of it.  It worked best in the late afternoon just on dark.  One of our group would be the "wolf" and they would hide somewhere. Then we would walk, usually huddled together, unable to see the “wolf”, toward the area where he was most likely hidden, all the time knowing that he was there and that he was near.  ‘What time is it, Mr Wolf?’ we would ask, and he would softly tell us a time. Scared, we would venture closer, peering, asking the time, still unable to see him – until - we got really close and the “wolf” would jump out and shout out "midnight!" and chase us like a monster and we would flee in panic, trying not to be caught by the "wolf".

When I read through the Gospel text, I think immediately of our childhood game; I clearly relate ‘midnight’ as the ‘end of the day’. Our text tells us that there is a day coming that will be unlike any other, an ‘end day’ for another day will not follow it.  We don't know when, exactly, but we know it’s getting ever closer.  The end of the world, the final day of reckoning, the day of our salvation or the day of our doom, is coming.  Jesus tells us how we should stand in readiness for that great and terrible day, always being alert to the signs of the times.  Like my childhood game, we go through life calling "What time is it Mr Wolf?"

According to the words of Jesus, the signs of this coming catastrophe are pretty clear and pretty dramatic.  There will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars.  Of course the details of those signs are not made clear, and we are no longer a people who read signs in the stars as they did back then.  We are too scientific.  The signs could be as simple as the scientific discovery that a meteor or a comet will strike the earth and annihilate the human race.  It could be the physical and robotic exploration of the moon and planets, and the wonders of the galaxy that we behold through space bourn telescopes.  We, as humans put a lot of time and money into searching for “signs in sun and moon and stars”. - "What time is it Mr Wolf?"

Then Jesus says another sign is dismay on earth among the nations, identified with a perplexity at the roaring of the seas and the waves.  Now that sounds distinctly environmentalist, doesn't it?  The dismay at the seas.  Nations have become extremely agitated of late at the Ocean.  The ice caps are said to be melting.  The ocean is said to be polluted.  Life forms are disappearing from it.  It seems like the last ten years all we have heard in regard to weather patterns is whether we are experiencing either El Niño or La Niña. These oceanic conditions determine the water at the surface being too hot or alternatively one if the water is unusually cold.  Weather reports continually give us crash courses on how these phenomena affect our weather dramatically, and we have seen a remarkable increase in cyclone (or hurricane) activity across the planet causing many people a great deal of alarm. This is another sign Jesus gave, mankind fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the world.  

Fear is certainly not in short supply in today’s world, worldwide, people are quaking with fear over what is happening or what they think is about to happen.  There is widespread fear of terrorism and extreme ideologies.  People are frightened by the control and invasiveness of information technology, and the changes that will make in our world.  People are afraid of running out of resources, afraid of global warming, and afraid that some natural disaster, like fire flood or earthquake, or those meteors or some new super epidemic, that will wipe out mankind, or life itself from this world. -  "What time is it Mr Wolf?"

Could it be that we the people of God’s creation are afraid because we have lost the faith in and the knowledge of God and of His great love for us.  Do we no longer recognise His reality, and have we lost sense of His divine providence.  That is a definite recipe for fear.  Friends in Christ, that fear, that dismay, and that perplexity is the sign that Jesus pointed to as the sure and certain sign that He is coming back. That will happen for sure, but not the way the doom and gloom prophets predict.  The end of the world is a certainty.  The end of our participation in it is a far nearer certainty, - but – take heart, that should not be the cause of fear for us the children of God, Baptised into a Holy and eternal fellowship with our Great Triune God.  Admittedly when we, as Christians, read of and speak of the Biblical catastrophes that produces terror in the hearts of worldly people today, there would be few very few of us who also would not feel some fear.  You would have to be a pretty remarkable person if you didn’t.  Our weakness is our humanity. -  "What time is it Mr Wolf?"

Friends, Jesus knows all this, and he urges us to have courage, to have faith in Him.  “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."  Rather than fear, Jesus inspires us to confidence and hope.  Lift up your heads!  Don't cower in fear as though something unexpected is happening.  Straighten up and lift up your heads.  You know what is happening, and what it means.  It means that we are following the carefully laid plan of God.  The end is coming, and soon.  It is not going to be global flooding, or global warming, or a monster rock from outer space.  It will be the return of Jesus Christ with the fulfilment of our salvation in His hands!

Jesus even tells the parable of the fig tree to make His point.  Just as we recognise the signs of the seasons, and know that everything is happening just as it should, Jesus invites us to know the signs of the ages, and understand that it is not a terror for us.  Nothing bad is happening.  They are the signs of the return of the Lord that we see. He is the same Lord who loved us so much that He became man for us.  It is the same Lord who suffered such agonies in our stead, for our sin, so that we would not need to.  It is the same Lord who forgives us all our sins, and gives us eternal life.  Remember that for the child of God the worst thing that can happen, a physical death that our sinful flesh rejects, is also the best thing that can happen, for it is the door to life everlasting in glory with Him!

Jesus said that it will happen, and then He reminds us that His promises and His salvation and His love is more permanent than the earth below us or the sky above us.  Even as we see this world come unravelled and undone, His love and His promises and His salvation are unshaken and sure!  “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” 

Friends, in the light of this, we remember the complex prophecy of the ancient Mayan civilisation, which for so long (up to six years hence) held the undivided attention of so many worldly academics, the prediction that the 5,125 year life cycle of the earth would end on 22^nd December 2012, at which time the world would come to a cataclysmic end.

Is it any wonder that Jesus says, be prepared:  Be on guard:  Those are the words He used.  Be on guard against the unrealistic and unbelieving fears.  Be on guard against the foolishness that cannot understand the events around us.  Be on guard that your hearts may not be weighed down with dissipation (the squandering of life’s blessings) and drunkenness (debilitating escape from reality and self control) and the worries of life, (the car payments and the house repairs, the opinion of our neighbours about us, and the endless stream of health scares) Jesus doesn't say not to take care of such things, He simply warns us not to be crushed by them or so distracted that we do not see the coming of the day of the Lord, and that day comes on us suddenly like a trap. - "What time is it Mr Wolf?"

The signs have always been with us. They have been and are still there because God has so arranged this world that they would be there for His people to see because that end day is coming, and God would not have us be distressed by its approach, or surprised by its arrival.

It will happen Jesus said so, it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.  How do we prepare?  Pray for strength and endurance in all the many circumstance of this world, “But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Jesus is all the preparation that we need.  He did what we needed done.  He paid for our sins.  He forgives us all our guilt.  He has given us eternal life in our Baptism.  He who is baptised and in penitence, allows the grace of God to flow into and through their lives, are saved.  In this world, among all the challenges and pains and sorrows of this life, our trust in the will of God in our lives is all the preparation you really need, ultimately, it is the only real hope we have in this life into eternity. - What time is it, Mr Wolf? – it is the time of our Lord; it is time to live in unity with Him. Amen

The love and peace of our great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Christ the King – 25 November 2018 – Year B

Grace to you from God our Father and our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 18^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St John: Verses 33 – 37:

³³ Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" ³⁴ "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?" ³⁵ "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?" ³⁶ Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." ³⁷ "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." 

I would like to ask the question: Who was interrogating whom in that account? The answer seems obvious, “Pilate – the governor of Judea – is clearly interrogating Jesus as to who he claims to be.” Well, let us look at the text, could it be that Jesus was interrogating Pilate?

When you look at it on a worldly level, Pilate is the man asking the questions. But if you look at it through the eyes of faith, you see Pilate standing before the King of heaven and earth being asked what He believes. 

You see when the world looks at Jesus, it sees a mere man – a historical figure at best – who is just like the rest of us. It scoffs at us for believing that Jesus is the almighty King of heaven and earth. I mean, really – does Jesus look like a king as he stands before Pilate and allows himself to suffer such great injustice? Humanly speaking, no. But that’s because Jesus is a King like no other. 1) He is patient with his enemies. 2) His kingship is divine, and 3) He is truth personified. 

He is patient with his enemies. 

When I think of how earthly kings deal with their enemies, I imagine them as being somewhat arrogant, wrathful and maybe even a little impetuous. But I don’t imagine a King patiently and lovingly trying to instruct an enemy who is insulting him. Do you? 

And yet this is exactly what our King Jesus was doing with Pilate. Here is the situation: the leaders of the Jews wanted Jesus crucified because He told the truth about himself being the Messiah. The problem was that the Jews were not allowed to legally kill anyone without the consent of the Roman governor. This is why the Jewish leaders charged Jesus with this: ^{(Luke 23:2)}"We have found this mansubverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king." 

Pilate knew that this was a blatant lie. He was not a stupid governor. Jesus’ ministry was not conducted in a vacuum. Just a few days earlier (on Palm Sunday) Jesus was hailed by a large crowd as the ^{(John 12:13)}“King of the Israel”. Now if there was anything the Romans investigated and dealt with swiftly, it was any hint of possible rebellion. We can certainly imagine that Pilate – who is known to have assassinated innocent people for merely hanging around possible rebels – had spies checking Jesus out the minute the crowds started to hail him as king. The fact that Pilate didn’t arrest Jesus then shows us that He wasn’t all too worried about him. 

Still, Pilate had to investigate, so he went back into his palace and summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus responded, "Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?" 

At first glance it might seem as if Jesus is being flippant, but in fact He is calling Pilate to consider his ways. As I said before, Pilate probably kept tabs on Jesus. Did Jesus ever give Pilate any reason to consider him rebellious; or was Pilate merely complying with the wishes of the crowd? Jesus was trying to get Pilate to think about his actions because He knew the great danger Pilate was in. The cowardly injustice that lay deep in Pilate’s heart would soon erupt into ordering the crucifixion of God. Jesus is nevertheless patient with him, wanting Pilate to come to repentance and faith. Hence his question "Is that your own idea – are you, as judge over Judea, truly worried about me rebelling against Rome; or did others talk to you about me – are you merely following the whims of this mob and sinfully not following the course that justice dictates.” 

Pilate isn’t the only one Jesus is patient with. The inspired pen of St. Peter wrote: ^{(2 Peter 3:9)}“[Jesus] is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”. Yes, what a blessing it is that Jesus is not like other kings, whose tempers can easily flare. If Jesus were like other kings, we would all be in hell right now due to the numerous times we rebelled against him. 

But God is patient with us, not wanting a single one of us to perish. By means of his Holy Word he calls us to consider the intentions of our heart – much like he did with Pilate. His law leads us to look deep inside of us to see the evil that lurks there – that is ready to crucify Jesus in order to pursue a sinful course. Patiently he leads us to that conclusion – all the while well aware of our stubborn, arrogant hearts. And when we finally do acknowledge our total depravity? Then he is there to patiently remind us of his love and strengthen us with his forgiveness that we might live a new life of humble obedience to him. Praise God that our Jesus has patience, unlike any other king! 

His kingship is divine. 

Another way Jesus is different than any other King is in regard to his divinity. In the ancient world many kings claimed to be gods. They wanted their people to worship them so as to keep them under their control. The Romans emperors (whom Pilate represented) were not exempt from this false idea. Ancient kings would build statues to themselves, brag about how they were supposedly divine, and force people to worship them. 

How different is King Jesus! He did not have his followers build statues of him. He did not go around boasting and bragging. He doesn’t force anyone to worship him. He simply let his teaching and miracles speak for themselves. The Holy Scriptures leaves us with no doubt that Jesus most certainly is divine. 

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." 

The fact that there was no rebellion, no one storming the palace to rescue Jesus, shows that He is a different kind of king. It shows that his kingdom is from heaven. God appointed his Son to be king over all because of the salvation he would earn for mankind through his suffering and death on the cross. The Old Testament scriptures are filled with quotations and prophecies about this fact, for example Daniel 7:14, pictures Jesus before the heavenly throne of God. “He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world – and what a comfort this is for believers. On this earth, Christians can expect suffering. We see the godless prosper and false teaching spread. Sometimes it seems as if believers are God’s enemies because of what they suffer. What a comfort it is to know that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. His kingdom is not seen in how materially successful we are or how little we suffer. God’s rule is found in the heart of those who, through the Holy Spirit, believe, and hold on to the promise that they are reconciled with God in Christ, and that Jesus will work in all these for their eternal good - to deliver them safely home to his eternal kingdom. 

With this reassurance, the Christian is ready for the challenges of this world – knowing that they will not be overcome and that nothing can separate them from the love of Christ and his gracious rule on our behalf. With this knowledge, the Christian can cry out with Timothy: ^{(2 Tim 4:9-18)}“And do what they will -- Hate, steal, hurt, or kill -- Though all may be gone, Our victory is won; The kingdom's ours forever!” 

Praise God that our Jesus is truly divine, unlike any other king! 

He is truth personified 

Winston Churchill once said“A Diplomat Is a Person Who Can Tell You To Go To Hell in Such a Tactful Way That You’ll Look Forward with Pleasure To Making the Trip”.

In other words diplomacy is chock full of empty promises and half-truths. Kings and world leaders are excellent diplomats! 

King Jesus is not a diplomat? He always testifies to the truth. He is, in fact, truth personified. 

"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

What does it mean that Jesus is the truth and testifies to the truth? What truth are we talking about here? It is the truth of who we are, who God is and how we are saved. 

Jesus, out of love for mankind, does not hold back any punches. He tells us in His Word: “We are completely corrupt. There is not a single intent of our sinful hearts that is even remotely pleasing to me. We are a hopelessly miserable, evil people – a sinner who has no hope of saving yourself. But fear not, because I have come to save you. I will live the perfect life you failed to live and thereby earn the righteousness that my Father demands of you. I will then take your sins upon myself, go to the cross and suffer and die for them all. This sacrifice will satisfy God’s demand for justice. I will send out my Holy Spirit through the preaching of my Gospel, to call you to repentance and create faith in your hearts. Through faith you will receive as your very own the righteousness and forgiveness I won for you. I will adopt you into my family. You will be my dearly loved children, and I will give you eternal life as your inheritance.” 

Jesus also tells us in the Bible: “If, however, you refuse to believe in me, want to attempt to earn your own way into heaven or chose to be a hypocrite – loving sin more than me and trying to use my salvation as a license to sin – then know this: you will have no part of salvation. You are still in your sins. When you die, you will die as my enemy and be cast into hell for all eternity. Therefore I call upon you today to repent, turn from away from your sins. Turn to me for forgiveness, and you will have eternal life.” 

To know Jesus is to know God and his love for us. To believe in Jesus is to have him as our glorious king. It is to be under his protection – knowing that he works in all things for our eternal good. It is to have hope in the coming deliverance that he will bring about on the last day. This is the truth, and all who believe in Jesus are on the side of truth. They will have eternal life. 

Before Jesus stood Pilate – the Roman’s emperor’s ambassador, questioning Jesus’ claim. Before Pilate stood Jesus – God’s own Son, the almighty King of heaven and earth – probing Pilate’s heart for faith. Our dear Jesus is certainly a king unlike any other. Amen. 

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen