Advent 2

Luke 21:25-28 - Advent 2 - December 7, 2014
Signs in the Sun and Moon and Stars

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. 

The day is surely drawing near
When God’s Son, the Anointed,
Shall with great majesty appear
As Judge of all appointed.
All mirth and laughter then shall cease
When flames on flames will still increase,
As Scripture truly teacheth. 

Let us pray:

O Jesus, who my debt didst pay
And for my sin wast smitten,
Within the Book of Life, oh, may
My name be also written!
I will not doubt; I trust in Thee,
From Satan Thou hast made me free
And from all condemnation. Amen. 

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“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.”  So said our Lord, Jesus Christ.  His warning is earnest, because he loves us.  Let’s begin this morning by considering why we take heed, how we take heed, and what we take heed of. 

Why – why should we take heed to ourselves?  Well, because the world is coming to an end; that’s why.  And when it does, we do not want it to be unexpected.  We want to see it coming with longing hearts.  If our hearts are weighed down, we will be found unprepared.  Our hearts will be glued to the things that are passing away instead of fixed on him who remains forever.  But when the Son of Man returns to judge the living and the dead, we want to be found ready, faithful, in Christ.  

—That is why we take heed. 

But how – how do we take heed?  That is perhaps the more pressing question.  To take heed is to be watchful; it is to give full attention. 

We take heed by knowing ourselves, by knowing our lusts, our temptations, our weaknesses, our doubts, what they come from and what they lead to.  We take heed by remembering what Scripture has taught us and taking it seriously, by fearing God and seeking his favor.  We are sinners who have not lived as God has required.  But Jesus has. 

We take heed by knowing Jesus.  He who pleased God in all he did has borne our sins.  With his first advent, he came to fulfill the law in our place and to take our punishment upon himself — so that in his second advent he might publicly recognize those who have trusted his holy word, and publicly rebuke those who have not.  In order that we may be found faithful on that Day, we seek not to be weighed down by cares of this world, but raised up by God’s word instead.  We make use of his daily advent through the means of grace.  We do not scorn the life of repentance, but instead we find joy in the forgiveness of our sins, which only penitent sinners receive.  By his faithful mercy, he himself clothes us in his own righteousness to prepare us for that Day.

—That is how we take heed. 

So, we take heed because the world is ending and all will be judged.  And we take heed by hearing his holy word, which will not pass away.  That answers why and how.  But what – what do we take heed of? 

We take heed of ourselves.  We stand watchful to guard that which Christ has purchased and redeemed with his own blood.  We treat our bodies and our minds and our hearts as Christ’s possession, since they are indeed his.  We are his temples.  This means that we guard ourselves against the desires of the flesh, against the false opinions of the world, and against everything that would distract us from hearing and heeding the words of Jesus.  Specifically, we guard our conscience.  We guard that which acknowledges God’s judgments as true by making sure that it is always being informed by the truth. 

—This is what we take heed of. 

We take heed of our conscience by hearing the ever-enduring word of our Savior God so that we may greet his Day with joy. 

St. Paul teaches us what the conscience is.  Our conscience is that which has knowledge of God, and which recognizes and distinguishes right from wrong.  Every man has a conscience.  We are not appointed a conscience like Jiminy Cricket who teaches Pinocchio to behave.  We are created with one.  It is part of who we are as human beings, made in the image of God.  This is what accounts for the universal standards of morality that we see throughout the history of all peoples – laws against murder, rape, cruelty to children, fornication, drunkenness, extortion, false testimony, etc.  Such knowledge is natural to man. 

But man’s nature is fallen.  Like everything in creation, sin has corrupted man’s conscience and made it weak and susceptible to perversion.  Just as we heard last week, that foolish hearts can be darkened by their willful ignorance of God in creation, so also the conscience can be seared and numbed by willful ignorance of God’s law.  This is what accounts for the fact that, although it is ingrained within everybody that murder, rape, and so forth is wrong, we still see people eager to commit these awful sins and even defend them.  People sin against their conscience until their conscience is no longer bothered by their sin.  They silence the voice of God until they can no longer even hear it.  They listen to lies until their conscience believes them. 

Jiminy Cricket was wrong.  You cannot always let your conscience be your guide.  When someone sins against his conscience, his conscience isn’t merely left behind, only to go chasing him on some noble quest through thick and thin to give him the good advice that he needs.  Rather, a man’s conscience itself remains with him.  But it is drugged and damaged.  In real life, Jiminy Cricket becomes corrupted no less than the real boy he is vowed to protect.  He becomes the dumb little bug he is, drowned in a sea of iniquity, swallowed by the monster of guilt, and able to provide no counsel other than senseless chirps that can easily be ignored.  That’s what becomes of the conscience when sinners willingly sin against it.  Instead of giving good advice, the tainted conscience now approves of the wicked things one wants to do, and even leads him into it. 

People numb their conscience so that it no longer feels what it was designed to feel.  Jeremiah speaks a word about this:

“Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed, nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; in the time of their punishment they shall be cast down,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 8:12)

Today we see all sorts of abominations: abortion, homosexuality, pornography, promiscuity, just to name a few.  People talk of these things as casual issues, when they should make us all blush just to hear them mentioned.  But people do not know how to blush.  They have seared their conscience so that shame has become a dirty word.  Consider this generation.  It is now a capital crime to make anyone feel shame for what God does not approve of.  Why?  Because by speaking plainly about such obviously disgusting things as these, you arouse the dim echo of a long-silenced conscience.  You remind them of their guilt before God.

But this guilt must be awakened if one will learn to take heed.  We must learn to blush at our sin and be ashamed if we will escape the punishment our sins deserve.  Our conscience must function correctly if we are to come to repentance.  Shame is a terrible thing.  But it is useful.  Those who are caught up in sin need it.  They need their conscience to be reawakened.  They need to be stripped naked and shamed before the light of day while mercy may yet be found so that their nakedness might be covered by the blood of Jesus.  If one will not blush before God in this time of grace, his destruction is certain.  And that Day will come as a terror. 

As we take heed to our own consciences, however, we need to make a distinction between a functioning conscience, that is, a conscience that actually kind of works like it’s supposed to, and a good conscience, that is, a conscience that has peace with God to whom we are accountable.  You don’t have to be a Christian to retain a clear understanding of right and wrong.  You don’t have to be a Christian to be offended by the unrestrained hedonism of this present generation.  Just like it doesn’t make one a Christian to plainly see that all that exists has been designed by God, it doesn’t make one a Christian to know a thing or two about what is morally good and bad. 

But this is not what saves us from damnation.  Only Christ can do that.  Being a pretty good person might prove that somebody has not totally numbed his conscience, but it does not mean that he has not fooled his conscience.  And the devil seeks to fool you too. 

When you have sinned and done what you know is wrong, the devil will use your shame like he did with our first parents to compel you to run away from God and hide.  When you have fallen to temptation, while the desire remains, but the shame of it all keeps you from completely giving in, the devil will tempt you to cover your nakedness with fig leaves, like Adam and Eve once did: “Just one good work will balance out the evil that you have done.  Just some pure thoughts will undo the lust you have felt.  Accomplish something worthwhile and the guilt and shame of having been selfish will kind of just float away.”  Ah, but these are fig leaves – a crummy covering for the nakedness beneath.  It is plain old-fashioned works-righteousness. 

The guilty conscience cannot undo its guilt.  It cannot figure out a way to gain innocence again.  No, what the guilty conscience needs is not to listen to what you naturally know about right and wrong.  What it needs to do is listen to God.  The word of God will strip you down, to be sure.  But God strips you down to give you suitable clothing.  Just as God gave Adam and Eve the skin of animals, so also our clothing requires the death of another.  The wages of our sin is death.  But the gift of God is eternal life, earned for us by the suffering and death of Christ.  He who rose in glory, clothed with the eternal approval of his Father, cloaks the naked.  He honors the shamed.  He forgives the sinner.  He bandages and heals the brokenhearted and despairing conscience.  And he does so by giving us knowledge that natural man cannot receive.  His Spirit speaks peace that unites us to his Father whom he has reconciled to us by his blood. 

Christ has purchased us with his blood.  This means he has purchased our conscience as well.  Our conscience is his.  This means he teaches us.  He teaches us to believe what he says.  He says that God does not condemn you for your sin since he was condemned in your place.  He who fulfilled the law for you silences its accusations against you.  He intercedes for you as your High Priest in heaven.  And he intercedes for you in your conscience too.  He sprinkles your heart clean from an evil conscience and washes your body clean in pure water.  He returns you to the promise of your Baptism in order to strengthen your faith in the truth of his salvation (Hebrews 10:21-22).  

This is what your conscience needs.  This is what Jesus gives. 

We take heed of ourselves.  Why?  Because the Day of Judgment is coming.  How?  By listening to God’s word and believing it.  What do we take heed of?  We guard our conscience against the lie either that our sin is no big deal or that it is too big a deal for God to forgive. 

The Day is coming.  But what draws near?  Jesus says our redemption draws near.  We will not be judged.  We have God’s verdict even now where Jesus joins us in his word and sacraments.  Lift up your heads.  The sun and the moon and the stars tell the whole story.  Do not fix your eyes on the distress of the earth.  Fix your eyes on the heavens, and see what happens to them.  “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” 

Dear Christians, we pray for the end of the world, because it is the end of our conscience being deceived, it is the end of all temptation to sin and despair, it is the end of faith, and the dawn for sight to take over.  We pray to see the sun darkened and to see the moon turn to blood as Joel prophesied (Acts 2:20).  This is symbolic. 

The sun symbolizes the law.  It lends its light to all the world.  Its heat is inescapable.  It gives natural light to all men who will see it.  But its heat burns.  It exposes the works that are done at night.  It exposes us.  But it will be darkened, because Christ has fulfilled the law.  He has blotted out the handwriting against us by nailing it to his cross (Colossians 2:14).  On the awful day of the Lord, the sun of the law will not expose us.   Christ will receive us.  He is the Sun of righteousness with healing in his wings.  He is the only Sun that will shine.  We will go out on that day leaping with joy like lively calves from the stall. 

The moon symbolizes our conscience.  Just as the moon reflects the brightness of the sun, so also our conscience reflects the brightness of the law.  But the moon will turn to blood.  Just so, our consciences are even now covered in the blood of Christ. 

Lift up your heads.  So said Jesus.  But the angel at his Ascension told us not to look to the skies.  “Why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). 

So where do we look to know that all these things are coming?  We look to his word, as the Psalm says: “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—[that is, to Zion, to Christ, to where the gospel is proclaimed]—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”  But this same Lord will undo his creation.  But he will not undo his word.  So we look by taking heed.  We listen.  We hear his gospel.  Is it being preached?  Then you know his Day is coming.  And if his day is coming, the distress of your heart and the foaming waves of this world’s tribulation cannot harm you.  And why?  Because, as the same Psalm assures you, “The Lord is your shade at your right hand.  The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night” (Psalm 121).  The law shall not condemn you, nor your conscience alarm you.  Because just as Christ comes today with mercy to forgive you and give you a good conscience toward God, he shall come again with mercy to bring you home. 

And so we close with these words of Isaiah:

“Arise, shine; for your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
The sun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light,
And your God your glory.
Your sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the Lord will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning shall be ended.” (Isaiah 60:1, 19-21)

Let us pray:

The only Son from heaven, foretold by ancient seers,
By God the Father given, in human form appears.
No sphere His light confining, no star so brightly shining
As He, our Morning Star.

O Jesus Christ, do not delay, but hasten our salvation;
We often tremble on our way in fear and tribulation.
Then hear us when we cry to Thee;
Come, mighty Judge, and make us free
From every evil! Amen.