Last Sunday in the Church Year (C) 2019

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

Text: Colossians 1:19
Theme: Supreme Dominion

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

In Christ the past is forgiven, the present is gifted, and the future is secured. Forgiveness, gift, and security are available in completeness only through Jesus. He is at the centre of things. He is supreme. Now, today is the final Sunday in the Church Year and we are reminded that this world is transient. History will come to conclusion. The King will return. Of Him our Scripture says, “All things were created by Him and for Him…and in Him all things hold together.”1 We rightly look forward to that great and glorious day for all woes will vanish and all mysteries will be revealed.

And when will it be? Well, the Lord speaks of earthquakes, wars, and famines. He warns of turmoil that will grip the nations of the earth. These are signs. Throughout history people have tried to read the signs to predict the Second Coming of Christ. Yet, such precision is impossible, as Jesus Himself says, “No one knows about that day or hour.”2 The purpose of the signs is to provide an antidote to our laxity. The warning of Jesus in today’s parable to be found faithful is a stark reminder of how serious these matters are.

The return of our Lord is not questionable or tentative. It is not contingent. We have the power neither to hasten it or prolong it. The Scripture says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”3 The judgment will take place and the righteous will be separated from the wicked. God’s judgment will be final.

Meanwhile though, the separating is continually in process. The Holy Spirit, wielding the word of God confronts sinners and converts and absolves those who believe. Believers look forward to the final resolution of sin. Some of the consequences of sin in this world will be mitigated through human effort. When something is mitigated its severity is lessened. That’s what human progress is supposed to be all about; better medicine, scientific advancement, and technological improvement, are just a few of the fields collaborating to make life safer and healthier, more convenient and enjoyable. The mitigation of sin’s consequences is also at the very heart of Christian vocation. We are called to support others in their brokenness. We are all sin-weary travelers whose burdens are lightened when shared with others.

But, dear friends, the implications of sin will never be eliminated. Sin is beyond our power to resolve. We cannot and we will not ever end suffering. We cannot and we will not ever end pain. We cannot and we will not ever end death. Naivety or arrogance might believe lead us to believe that we can, but it’s the same as believing we can become as powerful as God. But we are the creatures and God is the Creator and the situation will never be reversed. We are the sinners and Christ is the Saviour, and the roles are not interchangeable. We are the sheep; He is the shepherd. We are the patients; He is the doctor. We are the condemned; He is the Redeemer. We are the endangered; He is the rescuer. We are the dying; He is the life-giver.

Therefore, the first response to sin and its consequences is always repentance. We cannot rationalize our own sin away, though we try to do so with great gusto. Each of us deserves God’s just condemnation- even the newborn infant- because our sin is truly an offence to His holiness. As we reflect on Christ’s promised return it’s good to be mindful of the things, we should truly value and why we should value them. God values the whole person, body and soul.

The challenge is not so much in seeing that God loves people generally (though unbelievers deny this, of course) but in believing that the way God loves people is the best way. Faith clings to some very ‘naked’ promises of God. Who can prove to you that Mya, through the Holy Spirit’s work in baptism, has at this hour, on this day, a day not necessarily anymore memorable than the next, a day that like most others becomes pushed further back in our memories as each new day arrives, has become a participant in an eternal kingdom? No one can demonstrate that. This day she has become a child of the Supreme One; the One who is love incarnate. That is a mystery, but it will not remain without proof. It will be proven at the resurrection of the dead.

A corollary to the challenge of believing that God’s way of loving is the best, is believing that that has implications also for our everyday lives. We are purposeful beings. We are not rudderless vessels floating on a sea of uncertainty. And we are so in reality, if not in self-conscious recognition. Now, to be sure, peoples’ lives, even the lives of believers, can be plagued with uncertainty. The devil constantly sows seeds of doubt. Am I good enough for this? Am I worthy of that? Will a God protect me from this or save me from that? Often our uncertainties are very tangible and routine. How will I manage my finances, work with my colleagues, or mend a fractured relationship? At other times our uncertainties betray much deeper apprehensions. Who am I? Why am I here? Where is God when my life seems to be caving in all around me? What is my place in what seems to be cosmic chaos?

God is faithful. His defense of us is unflinching. His support will not be insufficient in the time of need. We can pursue our callings with confidence. Christians can be calm while the world panics, we still have hope when the world despairs, we press on when the world gives up......not because believers are in denial, arrogant, or apathetic about all of the brokenness and trauma sin causes, but because we know there will be resolution. We know Him who hung from the cross and said, “It is finished!”4 We know that in the maelstrom of darkness, doubt, and death we are securely anchored to that Rock which is immovable. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”5 Christ stepped out of the shadow of the empty tomb beaming with resurrection light. That light will never be extinguished.

Though Christians are forward-looking people- ultimately, we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come- that doesn’t mean God is inaccessible or inactive until the future life. God isn’t confined to heaven. He isn’t restrained there, incapable of assisting those “down below”. Have no doubt, dear friends, that God is near, very near. The Holy Spirit is present here and now, in real time and transcending space, in the heart of every believer. Christ also dwells in our hearts by faith, but even more, His blessing and power are present for us in Holy Communion. The incarnate Jesus is right here at this altar. And though in receiving this sacrament we remember His sacrificial death as the apostle says6, we also rejoice that in this meal of His body and blood He brings the future into the present.

Imagine an existence where there is no stress and no cause of stress whatsoever? Only joy, and light, and peace. That is what awaits God’s people in the new creation. How mind blowing is this simple little fact: There will be no more tears in heaven? There will be no weeping, grieving, crying. Imagine it! No sadness whatsoever. Why? Because there will be no injury, harm or death. What does the Scripture say? “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."7 How? As we heard, the Father sent the Son, “to reconcile to Himself all things…by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross”8 The same Jesus has promised to return in glory. “Amen, Come Lord Jesus.”9 Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Last Sunday of the Church Year
24 November 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Colossians 1:16-17 2 Matthew 24:36
3 2 Peter 3:9-10 4 John 19:30
5 John 1:5 6 See 1 Corinthians 11:26
7 1 Corinthians 15:54 8 Colossians 1:20
9 Revelation 22:20