December 14, 2011
Dear friends in Christ.
Did you know that on December 17, Charles Dickens’
classic, A Christmas Carroll will be 168 years old? Yes, 168 years ago on December 17, Charles
Dickens published a book that had taken him 3 short months to write. He published a book that became an instant
classic. It was a book that would
completely sell out before Christmas Eve of that same year. It was a book that would continue to be in
print until this very day, and would be a book that would be featured as plays,
operas, made for TV movies, as well as Hollywood blockbusters. Little did Charles Dickens know what would
come from his book or how his classic tale would entertain millions of people
as some version of it was aired on Television every year at Christmas time.
We’ve all seen it, we all have different versions of
A Christmas Carroll, versions that particularly strike us. Some of you may have
even read the book to find out exactly what Charles Dickens was trying to
convey with the different Christmas Spirits.
I haven’t read the book, but for me, the version that sticks with me is
the 1984 version starring George C. Scott.
I still remember, to this day, just how badly the Spirit of Christmas
yet to come simply frightened me. It
scared me in a way that I can’t explain.
Even today when I see it as an adult, small twinges of fear flicker at
the back of my mind because of my first reaction to that film nearly 30 years
ago. Yet, how often don’t we tend to
react with fear and trepidation when it comes to future things or things yet, unknown?
Well, this evening, as we continue our series on the
spirits of Advent, we have no need of fear or trepidation, because we know that
it is the Lord our God who has used these spirits to teach us and draw us
closer to himself. Just a couple of weeks
ago, we learned about the Spirit of Advent Past—the promise that the Lord made
to Adam and Eve that he would send a Savior to free them from their sins. Last week we took a look at the present
reality of Christ coming into this world, how he was born of a woman, and how
he was born under the Law so that he could redeem each and every one of us who
were also born under that same law.
Tonight, the Lord gives us a vision of Advent yet to come as Jesus
speaks to us from Matthew 25:31, saying:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he
will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.” (Matthew 25:31, NIV84)
Now, when Jesus spoke these words, he was sitting on
the Mount of Olives with his disciples.
It was Tuesday of Holy Week and Jesus was just a few days away from the
salvation that Pastor Degner spoke about with the Spirit of Advent
present. While Jesus was sitting on the
Mount of Olives his disciples had come to him asking about the sings of the
last days and of Jesus second coming, and Jesus spent all of chapter 24 and
most of chapter 25 the last days. Now,
as Jesus speaks in verse 31, he begins revealing the picture of what this
Advent that is to come will be like. He
simply tells us, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels
with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.” (Matthew 25:31, NIV84)
This is the day to which we as Christians are
looking forward! We are looking forward
to the Advent that is yet to come—the Second Advent of our Savior, the second
coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We are looking forward to the day when we will see him returning on the
clouds of heaven, As John describes in Revelation 1:7. We are looking forward
to the day when he will return in glory and judgment. We are looking forward to the day when
thrones will be put into place and the Ancient of Days will take his place, the
court will be seated, the books will be opened and the Son of Man will come on
the clouds of heaven as Daniel describes in Daniel 7:9-14. We are longing for the Advent that is yet to
come, because we know that on that day when our Savior returns, this game of
life will be over once and for all, and we will be declared the victors! Though we are already the victors through
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, because we have crossed over from death to life
(John 5:24) we are looking forward to that day when the Last Trumpet sounds.
Though there can be times when our sinful nature
gets the better of us, causing us to wonder and worry about the Advent that is
yet to come, as Jesus continues on in Chapter 25, he assures us that we have
nothing to worry about. Just listen to
what he tells us, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels
with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will
be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his
right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his
right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the
kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry
and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to
drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you
clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to
visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you
hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we
see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will
reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these
brothers of mine, you did for me.’" (Matthew 25:31–40, NIV84)
On that Last Day when the Trumpet sounds, we will
witness the Final Advent, his Second Coming to the earth. We will see him descending on the clouds with
all his angels with him. We will see him
sitting on his glorious throne in his heavenly glory, and we will be gathered
before him. There, on that day, through
faith in him, we will be placed on his right as believers. We will stand as Righteous Sons and Daughters
of the Lord our God who cleansed away every spot and stain of our sins by our
Savior’s precious blood. We will be made
holy as the Lord our God transforms our lowly bodies so that they will be like
his glorious body. (Philippians 3:21).
On that day, the Lord Jesus, himself, will invite us to take the
glorious inheritance of the saints, the kingdom prepared since the creation of
the world. On that day we will go away
to eternal life, even as those who didn’t believe in him will go away to
eternal punishment.
How do we know that this is true? How can we be certain of this? Simple!
This is the very thing that the Lord Jesus promised us! This is what Advent is all about! It is about Jesus Christ, our Savior, coming
to us, to free us from our sins. He came
to us in the past as the promise of the Savior was passed down from generation
to generation and all the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament pointed
to the sacrifice that he would make. He
came to us as a little child, born in to this world under God’s law so that by
his death and resurrection he could redeem us from the curse of the Law. He comes to us each and every week through
the Gospel that is proclaimed to us in the Word and in the Sacraments, and he
will come to us one last time when he returns on the Last Day to judge the
living and the dead.
Can’t you just imagine what that day will be
like? Can’t you just hear the shouts of
praise echoing throughout the world by all the believers who have longed for
their Savior’s return? Can’t you just
see the glory of your Savior sitting on his throne as he separates us from the
unbelievers? Can’t you feel the amazing
and overwhelming love and grace of our Savior who loved us so much that he
chose us to be his own and is now taking us to his heavenly kingdom to live
with him in righteousness, innocence and blessedness, forever?
This is the day to which you and I are looking
forward—the Final Advent of our King.
Though we don’t know when the Final Advent of our King will be, we look
forward with all our hearts to that day “When the Son of Man comes in his
glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly
glory.” (Matthew 25:31, NIV84) We look
forward to that day knowing that if we live to see it with our own eyes; we
will see our Savior returning with all the angels and all those who have gone
before us. But if it should happen that the Lord should call us out of this life
before our Savior’s return, we will be carried to his side where we will live
with him in his heavenly kingdom, and we will be doubly blessed to be part of
that throng of believers standing before the Lord’s right hand on the last day. Either way, we are victorious in the
Lord! Either way our Salvation is secure
with him. Either way we look forward,
with longing eyes, the advent of our King.
Though there was something about the Spirit of
Christmas Future that frightened me as a child, there is nothing about the
Spirit of Advent to come that needs to frighten or terrify us. There is nothing about it that needs to
frighten or terrify us, because as Christians we are looking forward to that
great and glorious day “When the Son of Man comes in his glory,” Amen.
Pastor
David M. Shilling Grace Evangelical Lutheran
Church--Le Sueur, MN
