St. Mark 13:14-36
Dearly beloved,
St. Mark records for us the words of Jesus describing and
prophesying the end. Today is the last Sunday in the Church Year, the
Sunday of the Fulfillment. There is much to be said on this topic. Even
more, there is much to say about Jesus’ words. The words of Jesus appointed
for today are not as easy to understand as we would like them to be, though.
We find a mixture of prophecies, some of which have already taken place.
We, Lutherans, talk of an “inaugurated eschatology,” the
ushering in of the end times. St. Mark lays it out for us in such a way
that we see the fulfillment of some of Jesus’ words in His arrest and
crucifixion. For example, Jesus says, “Be on guard, keep awake. For you do
not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when
he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and
commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.”
This harkens us forward to the Passion narrative where Jesus
is sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is this that Jesus is
thinking of. Jesus sweats in prayer in the Garden, while His closest
disciples lie off in the distance with the charge to be on guard and watch,
but alas they sleep. This is not the time for sleeping. For a man is
getting ready to go on His journey: Jesus is getting ready to be betrayed
into the hands of evil men. He soon shall depart, going on His journey,
leaving His servants in charge, each with His work, with the command for the
doorkeeper to stay awake.
Peter, James and John need to be awake and ready. They will
get their cue to preach the kingdom soon. But there is more—words with a
twist meant to conjure a picture in your mind. “Stay awake,” Jesus says,
“for you do not know when the master is coming, in the evening, or at
midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning, lest he come
suddenly and find you asleep.” The rooster crowing is meant to be a
reminder to all of Peter’s three-fold denial of Jesus in the courtyard when
the rooster crows. Peter was awake, but, behold, he sleeps.
Mark is teaching us something about “inaugurated
eschatology.” No one knows the day or hour. No one knew in Jesus’ day,
when everything would come crashing down. Peter and the disciples were
content having Jesus around. None of the disciples were ready for the
departure of Jesus through the crucifixion event. But it was coming. It
was a time that tested the faith of many. Judas lost His soul over it. Peter
nearly lost his. Disciples on the road to Emmaus were lowly of heart,
saddened by what had taken place.
The women at the tomb were fearful of the news of Jesus’
resurrection as the angel described it, and they fled from the tomb and told
no one for a time. It was at the point of the arrest of Jesus that all
things began to shift and change. But were they ready? Jesus had to come to
them after His resurrection to appear to them behind locked doors. Jesus
had to walk with the Emmaus disciples and teach them about Himself from the
Old Testament.
We are being told by Jesus to be careful. We need this
admonition because it is too easy to forget what is important. It is too
easy to get derailed and focus on things other than the gospel. Jesus ends
His prophetic utterance by saying, “And what I say I say to all: Watch!” We
think about the rooster crow and Peter. We think about the three disciples’
of Jesus asleep in the garden when they should be about Jesus and His
things. Are you asleep, though you are awake?
Are you caught up in the wrong things in life? Are you about
the things of Jesus? Do you fight and gnash your teeth, demonstrating for us
the Biblical description of Hell, or do you seek the peace of Jesus? What
Jesus is saying is very real. We can be so overcome by things that don’t
matter, that we forget about the gospel, we forget about the cross of Jesus,
we forget about the resurrection. We can be so overwhelmed by the world,
the languishing economy, the political machinations at work in the world
that we lose sight that all the might of man is within the hand of Jesus.
The Last Sunday of the Church Year is meant to bring us back
home. It brings to conclusion the lengthy Pentecost season, with all its
festivals and observances. Your home is with Jesus. To be awake, to be on
guard, for the church to watch is to be about the gospel and the sacrament.
We are to find ourselves beholding Christ in the sacrament. It is here that
we are awake and being about the things of Jesus. It is here at the altar
that we find ourselves protected when the rooster crows and we confess the
holy name of Jesus, rather than deny Him.
The end is promised to be good for the baptized children of
Jesus Christ. The “inaugurated eschatology” is God hanging lifeless on a
cross outside of Jerusalem on the Western side, the cursed side. It is
there that we find the sky darkened and the moon turning into blood, rather
than giving forth its light. It is such a drastic scene and picture that
even the Centurion at the foot of the cross exclaims that “surely this was
the Son of God…”
….and it’s all for you. Jesus did this for the life of the
world. He brings with this terrible and awesome picture eternal life to all
and for all who believe in Him. He pays for the sins of the whole world and
leaves you with a word of peace until He returns. This peace is to be
repeated over you by His ordained clergy all the days of your life. When
you hear “The peace of the Lord be with you,” and “The Lord bless you and
keep you…” this is Jesus’ ongoing statement to you that you reside in His
love and peace.
You are holy and loved. And knocking on the door is the
preaching of the incarnation and birth of Jesus. Advent beckons. Soon the
altar shall be adorned in blue. We long for the expectant joy of His coming
to us, in the flesh, in the sacrament, in the preaching, as well as in His
second coming. To sum it up, we long for Jesus. We need Him, and He comes
to you to give you peace as you await the blessed reunion in heaven. Amen.
--
Rev. Chad Kendall
www.frchadius.blogspot.com
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lowell, Indiana
www.trinitylowell.org
