Watch!

First Sunday in Advent

November 30, 2014

Mark 13:37

Watch!

†

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I.

What is a good night's sleep? It's many hours of uninterrupted oblivion. When insomnia or a kid wakes you up at 2 am, you're likely to be a bit grouchy, because you've been taught that your hope for a good night's sleep has been ruined.

But the normal way of sleeping today might not be the way it always was. Sleep patterns in olden times may have been different.

Before clocks and then factory shift schedules, sleep was broken up. Just like your day is morning and afternoon, the night was also segmented. Before lighting became affordable with whale oil lamps and then light bulbs, people went to sleep when it got dark, around 9 or 10.

But they'd wake up on purpose at midnight after "first sleep. They'd stay awake and spend an hour or two doing things. They prayed and meditated. They considered their dreams. They visited neighbors. And being sinful like us, some even used this midnight hour to steal from their neighbor's orchard. Then they'd go back to bed for their "second sleep" and then awaken around dawn.

The ancients numbered the segments or watches of the night. Jesus speaks of these watches in Mark 13.

Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. (Mark 13:35)

In Jesus' day there were four watches of the night: evening, midnight, cock-crowing (at three), and morning. These were used by soldiers for taking turns on lookout posts. But it seems likely that civilians used these segments of the night for their own sleeping and watching as well.

II.

With the practice of segmented sleep in olden times, Jesus' words seem to fit nicely with the words of Psalm 119.

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on Your promises. (Psalm 119:148)

Soldiers on guard duty were watching for enemy soldiers. What do Christians watch for? The Day of the Lord. Paul wrote,

For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. . . . So then, we must not sleep, like the rest, but we must stay awake and be serious. (1 Thessalonians 5:2,6)

III.

Staying awake means that we believe and confess what we used to be, who Jesus is, and what He has made us to be.

We used to be fast-asleep sinners. But our Savior Jesus, who shed His blood for all sleepers, wakes us up from our sleep with blessed Sacrament of Holy Baptism. It is as though you are woken up at midnight and can't get back to sleep. What do you do with your time?

Soldiers on night guard duty use their ears, just as much as their eyes. Christian do likewise. We watch by listening.

At dawn before you turn on the radio or the television, or at least before you turn on the ignition, spend some moments in prayer and meditation, listening to Jesus, God's Word. And then go to work or school. My guess is that His Words will stay with you. They'll keep you watchful through the day. And consider pausing at noon for a few more moments of prayer and contemplation.

IV.

The technology of the clock has caged many into unhealthy patterns. Even when believers complain about our busy lives, we don't know how to put our finger on the root of the problem. It's not the schedule or the clock or time itself that is the problem. It is the misplaced trust that time is going to keep on spinning, spinning, spinning into the future. It won't. It will end. Clocks and schedules are often the cages that those who are still asleep (unbelievers) willingly lock themselves into.

Even we who are awake (believers) are tempted back to sleep. But Jesus says, "Watch! Stay awake! Be alert!" And by faith we do. Through our prayerful listening and faithful service to others, we are awake and watchful in Christ. And at the end of the day of work, when we go to sleep, we know that even while we sleep, we are watchful, for we belong to Him. And one of these nights, He will return with glory of the noonday sun to confess His own before His Father.

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

For more on segmented sleep:

https://soundcloud.com/backstory/roger-ekirch-on-segmented

Now Thank We All Our God

Thanksgiving

November 27, 2014

Now Thank We All Our God

†

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A long time ago a war that lasted 30 years swept through central Europe. Armies from many nations fought battle after battle in Germany and the destruction from the battles and their fallout were catastrophic. Imagine all of the conflict of World War II bottled up in Iowa and Illinois for 30 years.

For example, the Lutheran town of Eilenburg was invaded once by the Austrian troops and twice at different times by Swedish soldiers. The armies would pass through and pillage the land. They abuse the people and steal their crops. And the plague killed thousands. It was awful.

During this time of destruction Lutherans suffered terribly. During the war Eilenburg was told by the occupying Swedish army that the town needed to pay a tax of 30,000 thaler, a huge sum in good times. The Lutheran pastor in Eilenburg, Martin Rinkart, went out and pleaded the unreasonable tribute down to 2,000.

Pastor Rinkart was the only pastor in Eilenburg. In 1637 he buried the two other pastors who died from plague; he was left alone even more when his own wife died. Yet surrounded by death and in his grief, clinging to Christ's promise of life through forgiveness Pastor Rinkart praised his merciful Redeemer and wrote this song for his children.

I invite to turn back to Hymn 610 and we'll read Pastor's Rinkart's words of stanza one together.

Now thank we all our God

With hearts and hands and voices,

Who wondrous things has done,

In whom His world rejoices,

Who from our mother's arms

Has blessed us on our way

With countless gifts of love

And still is ours today.

We thank our God with everything He has given us: hearts that beat, hands that make, and voices that speak. All the food that sustains our hearts is His. All the wood and dirt and metal we create with is His. Our voices describe things that only exist because He speaks into being. Our mothers are from Him. All these things are ours because He is the maker of heaven and earth.

But all these earthly blessings come and go. Pastor Rinkart and his family and parishioners didn't have enough food; some of our loved ones may not be able to eat easily. Some have good mothers; others don't have moms; and others have bad ones.

But Pastor Rinkart confessed that through the gains and losses of life, one thing remains ours: the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We speak stanza two.

Oh, may this bounteous God

Through all our life be near us,

With ever-joyful hearts

And blessed peace to cheer us

And keep us in His grace

And guide us when perplexed

And free us from all ills

In this world and the next.

Jesus' presence is always near us. His presence is real, but He hides Himself from our senses. But as often as we receive the Word of the Lord, we hear His voice that speaks blessed peace that cheers us up and cuts through perplexing situations. We hear His voice that cuts through all the worries that we have and will have until the end. But until then His simple words are so clear and cheerful.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Matthew 6:25-26

How simply He reassures us with ideas we can easily grasp! Birds are great, but you are far more valuable. And when you doubt this, Jesus promises to come to you and speak value into you. In and of yourself, you are worth less than a bird. But Jesus says that He makes you valuable to Him.

And so we speak stanza three.

All praise and thanks to God

The Father now be given,

The Son, and Him who reigns

With them in highest heaven,

The one eternal God,

Whom earth and heav'n adore!

For thus it was, is now,

And shall be evermore.

When these thirty years of war finally ended in 1648, Pastor Rickart's hymn was sung in thanksgiving to Christ for His mercy by the Lutheran survivors of war and plague. They thanked Him for sustaining their trust in His promise of forgiveness and life, even when everything else was taken away.

Today we praise Christ for the same forgiveness and life, but for a different reason. We thank Him that all our earthly abundance has not taken away our trust in Him.

We raise our voices to God with Pastor Rinkart and the Prophet Isaiah:

I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness

Isaiah 61:10

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Our Thorns Crown Our King

Last Sunday of the Church Year

Christ the King Sunday

November 23, 2014

Matthew 27:27-31

Our Thorns Crown Our King

†

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A crown of thorns You're wearing,

My shame and scorn You're bearing

That I might ransomed be.

My bondsman, ever willing,

My place with patience filling,

From sin and guilt has made me free.

Paul Gerhardt

Upon the Cross Extended

Lutheran poet Paul Gerhardt wrote of the shameful-looking Jesus with our sins laid upon Him on the cross. He pictures the crown of thorns as our sin, our shame and scorn. Shame over the sins which we alone are aware, yet trouble us. Scorn from others, especially our family, for sins that hurt them. Shame and scorn are the fruit of our sinfulness. And Jesus takes up our sin-soaked crown and wore it to set you free from sin, shame, and scorn.

Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on Him, and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again. After they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him. 

Matthew 27:27-31

So many awful and amazing things here. These Roman soldiers are cruelly creative in mocking Jesus. But in their mockery they couldn't help but tell the truth about Jesus. They dressed Him as a king to ridicule Him, but their mockery, which ended 2,000 years ago, stands for all time as the truth that Jesus is the King.

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."

"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." 

John 18:36-37

Jesus is the King, but He doesn't rule with laws or swords. He is a King who rules with the Truth. He came to Bethlehem and into this world in the flesh to preach the truth: that all humans are thorny sinners and that He is the One who saves sinners from their thorns by being crowned with them and wearing them on the cross.

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

His faithful sheep listen to Him, who is the Truth. And the truth is that our sharp thorns pierce Jesus. This means that Jesus suffered the painful awful punishment for our countless sins so that we will never go to the cross. Jesus willingly was crowned with the thorns we make. By His crown of our thorns, we will never be abandoned by our heavenly Father.

In the past many kings have been captured in battle and take prisoner. Their nobles and subjects then had to gather up heaps of treasure to pay the ransom.

Our superb King turns the tables forever. Instead of dying for king and country, our King died for all nations. Instead of demanding our treasure before He will save us, He ransomed Himself to His own justice and offered His own precious blood as the price for our freedom. Praise be to the King, who wears our crown of thorns!

A crown of thorns You're wearing,

My shame and scorn You're bearing

That I might ransomed be.

My bondsman, ever willing,

My place with patience filling,

From sin and guilt has made me free.

Paul Gerhardt

Upon the Cross Extended

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

The Law Hangs on Love

Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

November 16, 2014

Matthew 22:40

The Law Hangs on Love

†

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I.

The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting something different to happen. By this definition, the enemies of Jesus were insane. They were so jealous of Jesus and so offended by His teaching that God's forgiveness is free that they tried to stump Him with trick questions many times. And every time their questions and traps only revealed that this Man was not just a man, but the Son of God, holy beyond all goodness and wise beyond all wisdom.

But here's the upside: Because of their many failed attempts to ambush Jesus with words, we today get to enjoy the wisdom of our Lord.

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:34-40

Today is a fine example of Jesus' brilliance. A man asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest. He was asking Jesus which of the Ten Commandments was the most important to keep. Maybe Jesus was a big proponent of Remember the Sabbath. Or perhaps He was a backer of You Shall Not Commit Adultery. Whichever commandment Jesus proclaimed was the most important, then this questioner would have Him. Or so he thought. He thought once Jesus committed to Third Commandment (Remember the Sabbath), His enemies could jump in and slam Him for giving adultery a pass. This was the trap they set for Jesus.

II.

Here I think I should point out that what this expert in the law was doing is something that all sinners do. We compulsively rank God's commandments and our sins.

Perhaps you get physically ill with only a little wine, but your live-in boyfriend can put the beers away. So you rank sobriety as the greatest commandment. On the other hand you chide your drunk boyfriend. Strangely no attention is paid to the Sixth Commandment, which tells us about God's gift of marriage and how the blessing of a man and woman living together as husband and wife is only for those who are husband and wife.

Perhaps you rank the gift of parents as the most important. You had great parents and always found it easy to Honor Your Father and Mother when they were alive. But you complain to anyone who'll listen about how disrespectful young people are. So you rank the Fourth Commandment (honor your parents) highly, but the Eighth Commandment (don't be a busybody) takes a distant ninth in your book.

Examples aside, the bottom line is that sinners always rank the sins that they think they don't struggle with as most important, and ignore the other ones.

III.

So back to Jesus and His answer. When asked which is the greatest commandment, He didn't pick one commandment and pit it against all the others. Instead, the very same God who wrote the Ten Commandments cuts to the heart of them all: Love.

The greatest command of the Law is love. Love God and love all other people more than yourself. Everything hangs on love. And when we insanely try to find happiness in being loving to others and being loved by them in return, we will always be disappointed in the end.

Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, You were angry. How then can we be saved? All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:4-6

We are sinners whose righteous acts are filthy rags. This means that no matter how hard we try to put others first, we always find a way to look out for number one, Me. Even when we are kind to others in order to force God to love us, we reveal that we are only using other people as a means to an end. We don't love them in and of themselves. We are trying to use our niceness to others to get something from them and from God.

IV.

Jesus' answer devastated His enemies. He preached the absolute demands of love. Anything less destroys those who try to love. But Jesus loves His enemies and doesn't want them to be destroyed. So He followed up with a question of His own.

"What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They replied, "The Son of David," they replied. He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls Him 'Lord'? For [David] says, " 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet." ' If then David calls Him 'Lord,' how can He be his son?" No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. Matthew 22:42-46

Jesus told these men that He is the Son of God who has come to save the world from its filthy attempts at love. Everything these men had believed about religion was swept away. Jesus told them that the only Way to life is not through their love, but through His.

And through His love, we become His children who love in truth and purity. And our filthy rags become the messy drawing of sons and daughters.

Kids love to draw. But most of it isn't going to any museum or art gallery. Most of it is only worth the fridge or the circular file. The kid thinks its great and offers the dog-monkey-bird to their father with delight in their eyes: "Look at what I drew!" And the father praises the child's good work and treats it like the Mona Lisa. The father takes pictures of the drawing and posts online for all world to see: "Did you what little Ezra drew?!" Wow!

This is how our heavenly Father treats our good works, like they are the greatest thing since He created sliced bread. He proclaims our works as the greatest, all for the sake of His good and holy Son, Jesus Christ.

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Civil Government - Northwestern Publishing House

Civil Government - Northwestern Publishing House

Christ's Other Kingdom

Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost

November 9, 2014

Daniel 1:3-21

Christ's Other Kingdom

†

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I.

Think about how Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego interacted with the government and following the way of the cross.

[Be] subject to rulers and authorities, be obedient, be ready to do whatever is good, slander no one, be peaceable and considerate, and show true humility toward all men. Titus 3:1-2

Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. 1 Peter 2:13-17

Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's. Matthew 22:21

Daniel and his three friends were prisoners of war. They were Jews who have been exiled to the conquering nation of Babylon. Yet Daniel and his friends did not conspire and plot against the king of Babylon. They did not rebel. Instead they sought the best interests of their new country and faithfully used their talents and abilities to that end.

Later, when the government demanded that Daniel not pray to the true God and when the government demanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego bow to a golden idol, they refused to obey but did not seek to harm the state in any way. When they escaped from the lions' den and the fiery furnace, they did not expect the government to establish the religion of the true God, nor did they use their influence to get the king to hunt down pagan idolaters.

II.

Daniel and his friends lived out the relationship between believers and their government established by Christ. This relationship is clearly laid out by St. Paul in Romans 13.

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Romans 13:1-7

Governments are supposed to do four things. They are supposed to commend those who do good. Notice that Paul does not define what good it is that government should commend; he leaves that to the government.

Second, they are to be a terror to those who do wrong. Notice that Paul does not say the government should be a terror to those who believe wrong or to those who think wrong but only to those who do wrong. The business of government is outward behavior, not the inner workings of the soul and the heart.

Third, the government is supposed to carry out punishment of those who do wrong, up to and including capital punishment. Note the words "he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer." The sword has but two uses for the state. Either it used to execute a criminal or by a soldier in time of war.

Finally, the government is supposed to collect taxes that it considers necessary to carry out its work.

As citizens of our country we are free to persuade our fellow citizens about what is good and what is wrong. We are free to elect rulers who will carry out the functions of the government. We can debate how to collect taxes. We are free to object when we think the government is not doing its job or when it's doing a job it shouldn't be doing. But St. Paul and all of Scripture leaves no room for violent rebellion against the government.

As noted before Daniel did not rebel against his king when his king tried to control his faith and to whom Daniel prayed. Daniel did not conspire to overthrow King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had the ability to do so. Daniel didn't even try to run away to another country. He stayed; he prayed; he was arrested. And he would have eaten by lions, if God had not sent angels to clamp down the lions' mouths.

III.

Dear fellow travelers on the way of the cross, obey the government like Daniel did. When it acts badly, pray to Christ for aid and speak up. Make the case for what is good and true. And then like Daniel prepare to suffer for defending what is good and true. We won't be thrown into a lions' den like Daniel or a fiery furnace like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

But we will be harmed in other ways. Our good names will be attacked and we will be despised by our fellow citizens. But that is the way of the Christ and His cross for all believers. We confess the name of the Lord. We suffer for His name. And we live in His name!

Consider the temptation Christ faced in the wilderness. The Devil came to Jesus and offered Him all the kingdoms of the world. In other words the Devil offered Christ all political power in all the world. In other word: one world government with Jesus in charge. the Devil promised Jesus that He could avoid the cross and use political power to Christianize the nations of the world.

But Christ said no. He refused the shortcut. He followed the way of the bloody cross, not the way of glory and power. The way of the glory leads souls to eternal death; the way of Christ's cross brings souls into everlasting life. Jesus refused to take the easy way of glory; He chose the painful way of the cross for us. He submitted to the government that He had established and that would execute Him. How strange. How mysterious. How amazing.

We follow the same way of the cross. By obeying the government, we are obeying Christ and serving our neighbor. When the government says that murder is okay and that marriage means nothing, each of us prays to Christ and speaks out for the truth. And each of us suffers for the truth and the cross in our own ways. But in the cross we live.

Governments come and go. Nations rise and fall. But the Word of the Lord endures forever.

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

NOTE
The sermon borrows heavily from Civil Government: God's Other Kingdom by Daniel M. Deutschlander. Please read this excellent work to hear these points expanded thoroughly.

Lutherans and the Defense of the Faith

The Resting Church Rejoices

All Saints Sunday

November 2, 2014

Revelation 7:9-17

The Resting Church Rejoices

†

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I.

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

Revelation 7:9-10

The last book of the Bible is a detailed record of what God revealed to St. John in a vision. But unlike a dream while you sleep, John was awake during this vision. What he saw did not come from his imagination. And what he saw was given for the comfort and certainty of all Christians. John saw that Jesus wins! All of history and time cannot escape the victory of God's Son over sin and death.

In the first several chapters John saw the church on earth. The church on earth is a church at war. We fight not with guns, but with the Gospel. St. Paul explains the war we are fighting is a war for hearts and minds.

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the Devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:11-13

Paul goes on to say: Stand firm! Ready feet! Extinguish flaming arrows! Be alert! This is the church at war against the Devil and our own temptations. We fight enemies within and without. But all our fighting does not save us. Our fighting is the work of souls who already are saved. Christ blesses His people and keeps us safe in His Word until the end of life.

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

II.

But in this chapter, chapter seven, John sees what is to come: the great gathering of believers gathered around the true God, crying out His Word. They are no longer at war; they are finally at rest. And so they rejoice. Down on earth God's saints had been divided by time, space, and our own sin. But in heaven this is no longer true. In the life to come we are one great multitude.

The multitude comes from every nation and tribe and language. In the Old and New Testaments those who trusted in Jesus' promises were scattered into all the earth, some voluntarily, others were forced. But wherever they ended up, they preached the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Their pastors baptized and they preached; they celebrated the Lord's Supper. They were the Church among all tribes and nations and peoples.

We live in a world that pays lip service to multiculturalism, and sadly this lip service only ends up bullying individuals and divinding cultures. The only thing that will ever truly transcend culture is sin and Christ. All are sinners. And Jesus died for all of them, all of us. And this good news compels all creation to rejoice. And John sees other creatures, not human beings, rejoicing, too!

II.

All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" Revelation 7:11-12

Earlier in John's Revelation we meet the elders and the creatures. The living creatures seem to be special angels. And as living angels they are messengers with the message of the living God.

There are 24 elders and they represent the believers in the time of the Old Testament and the believers in the time of the New Testament. They are stand-ins for the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles of Christ. Thus they are 24 and represent believers of all time.

III.

Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?" I answered, "My lord, you know." And he said, "These are they who are coming out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Revelation 7:13-14

Suddenly in the middle of this joyful praise, one of the elders stops to ask John a question. Think of this exchange like a parent speaking to a child who is seeing something new for the first time. The parents asks the child to explain what they are seeing and the child responds by assuming that the parents already knows the answer. And the elder here does.

These are the saints, the communion of saints, who have endured temptation and doubt and have come through the great tribulation of life into the great peace of everlasting life. Great tribulation sounds like a believers being burned at the stake or beheaded. Indeed this was happening when John wrote these words long ago, but it still happens today. But just as we should not compare are goodness to others, we shouldn't compare our sufferings to the situations of others either.

Our life is filled with worry and trouble. Much of it is caused by the sinfulness that flows from our hearts and out of our mouths. Some of it comes at us from our spouses and families. A little comes from the world around us. We live in a culture that considers gently speaking the truth to be rude and aggresive and mean. And so these bullies overwhelm us with the worry of being thought a bully by others. And so to avoid any persecution or hassle, the Christ we hear and receive on Sunday morning has little bearing on what we do on Monday or even Sunday night.

Seeing our future through John's eyes fills us with courage for the present tribulations of our lives. Even if we didn't have this confident picture of the future, we'd still be saved until the end by the goodness of our Savior. But in His mercy, He gives us this look at the future as an encouragement, a promise of what is to come that puts courage into us. And that courage is Christ Himself.

He has washed our robes with His blood. This makes us think of Baptism and Communion. He has made us a communion of saints, who now are at war with the world and in conflict with our own sinful flesh. But soon this struggle will pass into distant memory when Jesus returns for you. And then you will be

". . . before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tent over you. Never again will you hunger; never again will you thirst. The sun will not beat upon you, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be your Shepherd; He will lead you to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from your eyes." Revelation 7:15-17

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.