First Sunday of Advent (C) 2018

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Luke 21:33
Theme: Advent Promises

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

The One who first came in humility will come again in glory. Advent means ‘coming’. Advent is a time for preparation. It is a time for repentance. It is a time for renewal and refocus. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”1
The business of advent gets in your face and won’t be brushed aside. It’s foolish to compartmentalise the Second Coming into a separate section of your beliefs. Denial won’t distance you from the reality. The imminent return of Christ must shape, and reshape, your entire worldview.

Today the Saviour issues a clear warning about the false sense of security that can build when we become over-occupied with the busyness of this world. But complacency is not easily overcome by the re-introduction of self-discipline. Precedent is a powerful mentor. Constancy teaches the mind that things will continue to be as they always have. When the evidence seems lacking that change will come abruptly it’s difficult to stay prepared. The challenge is not unique to the current times. “Scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation."2 Is the attitude of the culture any different today?

No wonder the Lord Himself is so diligent about calling us to remain spiritually sober. He says, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot-they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all- so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”3

And so, it will be in our times. Looking back, it will be said, “They were eating and drinking, not for necessity but for indulgence. They were occupied with making money, building reputations, establishing legacies; they debased marriage, practiced sexual immorality, even lost track of their gender. They devalued the life of the unborn, the aged, and the otherwise, unwanted. Some of these things they did out of selfishness and arrogance, others with high-minded intention of promoting liberty and progress, and then… judgment came. Judgment will come and woe to those who think that by their own virtue they will be able to stand in the judgment! No one is holy. Not one is righteous.

The announcement of advent is that God intervenes for the benefit of sinners. The Righteous One comes for the unrighteous. He brings forgiveness, hope, and salvation. He transforms hearts, bends wills, and changes minds. He doesn’t pass through for a visit but stays with His people. The Holy Spirit’s work never ceases in this life. He continually attends to us through the word and sacraments, not simply to educate our minds, but to cleanse our souls. Luther says it is the Holy Spirit’s work “daily to dispense forgiveness, until we attain to that life where there will be no more forgiveness, but only perfectly pure and holy people, full of godliness and righteousness, removed and free from sin, death, and all evil, in a new, immortal, and glorified body.”4 Imagine it, the life where the need for forgiveness will be obsolete! We will be freed from all the constraints, limitations, and punishments of this fallen existence. The coming Saviour promises these blessings to us. He has secured them.

Dear friends, one of the marks of our times is crisis a regarding the source and reliability of truth. The secular world has largely turned to scientism. Science has been made into an idol. But science properly understood, is just the investigation of God’s wonderful creation. Science has nothing to say about spiritual and eternal things. Nevertheless, there is much confusion. Yet, the gospel is never characterised by ambiguity. Any redefinition or reinterpretation is a falsification. The Scripture says, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”5 The Scriptures warn us regularly to be aware of false prophets and false teachings.

Governments around the world constantly employ new measures to prevent their currencies from being counterfeited. It’s often not easy to tell the difference between a fake and the real thing. The US Department of Treasury estimates there is about 70 million US dollars’ worth of counterfeit money in circulation. It’s a small percentage of the total. Since the creation of the Euro, counterfeiting has been a much bigger problem there.

The same danger faces us with the gospel. The best way to identify fake money is to know the real thing very well. Constant immersion in the Word of God is the best way to determine a falsified gospel. The Holy Spirit equips us for that task through regular contact with the truth. Anything that calls into question the integrity of the Holy Scriptures will, sooner or later, cast doubt on the teachings found therein. We’ve been seeing the results in the West for a long time now.

The gospel itself cannot be preserved apart from the authority of the Bible. People will question again, as they have in the past “Was Jesus really the Son of God? Was He able to die for my sins? Did He really rise physically from the grave? Is sin really so terrible that I face eternal condemnation for it anyway?” When niggling doubt turns to open scepticism faith is lost. Advent is a season for the renewal of faith. Today it is the beginning of a new Church Year. The One whose birth in the manger we will celebrate in coming weeks is the same Messiah who will come again in glory. He died on the cross. He rose again from the grave. This magnificent news has not changed, and people still need it- we need it- as much as ever.

The divine wrath has been appeased. The debt of sin has been relieved not by any process of negotiations or contribution from sinners. Jesus, the incarnate Son of God gave Himself, willingly, freely, and fully to atone for all your transgressions. You were washed with baptismal water, cleansing your soul from every guilt, spot, and stain. You are children of the Father, fed at His holy table. The Holy Spirit dwells in, with, and among you. He is your companion, your advocate, and your intercessor. Satan cannot control you. Death need cause you no anxiety. All of the menacing, or residual darkness and doubt of this mortal life will vanish like a shadow when the light of His immortal face beams upon you. Advent makes to us some powerful promises. Not one of them will fail. Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

First Sunday of Advent
2 December 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Luke 21:33 2 2 Peter 3:3-4
3 Luke 17:26-30 4 Large Catechism
5 Galatians 1:8