Keep Vigil for His Coming

Keep Vigil for His Coming

Advent 2 T Luke 21:25-36

 

Jesus has come once, and He will come again.

“The day is coming, burning like an oven,

when all the arrogant and evil doers will be stubble.”

This Old Testament prophecy will come to pass,

Just as the prophecies of the coming Christ came to pass.

 

Humanity is rebellious, and currently, God is merciful to us.

He doesn’t obliterate the unbelievers or believers because of our sins.

He’s patient, and merciful, that humanity may repent of its sins and seek refuge in God.

But on this day, God’s mercy to the unrighteous will dry up.

The time for repentance will run out,

And God will leave no root or branch for the unrighteous.

They will burn up in the heat of the day because of their own unrepentance and sins.

And on that day, God will judge the righteous and the unrighteous.

 

Those who don’t believe in Christ will perish.

Or, those who claim to believe in Jesus,

yet their claimed belief is far from the fruits of faith –

They too will likewise perish.

 

So, this morning’s Gospel is a warning to God’s church.

“Watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.”

 

Worldly things are intoxicating.

And the Lord tells us to watch out in participating in worldly things,

Lest our hearts become weighed down, sluggish, and tied up with things that would lead to disbelief and destruction.

 

Here, when Jesus refers to drunkenness,

It’s not just a reference to the abuse of alcohol and drugs.

Though the effects that drugs and alcohol have on a person are the perfect analogy –

You engage in some pleasure that is completely selfish,

and your actions disregard and harm others around you,

while you search for an artificial high.

When searching for such drunkenness,

You don’t think of others. You don’t think of God. You think of yourself.

 

After a night of binging, you wake up with a hangover,

Rendering you completely incapable of thinking clearly, working hard, and it slowly destroys you emotionally, physically, spiritually.

Night after night of such binging leads to anxiety, depression, and despair as the addict searches for another hit.

 

But notice, Jesus doesn’t just call out alcoholics and drug users for doing such things.

He also calls out those who care more about this life than their life with God.

Caring for this life more than your eternal life likewise causes an intoxicating effect,

Followed by a hangover.

Being preoccupied with worldly things lead to us being apathetic to anyone or anything else, and everything in “my world” becomes about me and my happiness.

 

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but we live in a very therapeutic society.

There’s a pill for every ill.

Shopaholics find brief moments of joy in every shopping mall.

There’s always something new that’s an improved convenience from the old.

There’s a whole genre of food called “comfort food”.

Any self help book or movie will tell you that what really matters in this life is that you find your happiness.

But finding such “happiness” places more care on this life than the next.

 

It’s easy to get lost in the world’s fake therapies while losing sight of God as redeemer.

Working for money on Sundays replace the eternal riches of Christ freely given at Sunday Service.

Fellowship from ball games, practices, and tournaments are temporary.

And when it happens on Sundays, they prevent attending church to receive eternal fellowship with the Father in heaven.

It’s easier to sleep in and Facebook live some other church’s service,

Than to put on some clothes and attend your local congregation.

 

What do all these things have in common?

These worldly things focus on “me” and distract from God.

They lead to the drunkenness of one’s heart.

Eyes stop looking towards the cross, and start to gaze at one’s own navel,

In search for things that make them “happy”,

If you can even really call any of that stuff “happiness.”

Side note, the things that should make Christians happy,

are the things that make God happy.

 

This stuff acts like a trap when the day of the Lord comes, says Jesus.

Satan puts out the bait,

And as you creep closer and closer to his enticement,

The day of the Lord drops down upon the drunk at heart.

At that moment, it will be too late to go back.

They were caught neglecting the things of God,

And getting drunk on wickedness and darkness.

 

This day will surely come.

It will come upon all who dwell on the face of the earth.

On this day, God will come as judge.

He will perform the work that’s alien to His essence.

That is, He will destroy the wicked who never turn to Him in repentance.

Mind you, Jesus didn’t give this warning to unbelievers in the gospels,

But to the disciples. To the church. To you. To me.

 

God doesn’t want His church to get drunk on worldly things.

Because God doesn’t want anyone to pass away from His loving embrace

His destructive work to the unrighteous is alien to who God is as love.

For God in Ezekiel 33:11 says “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”

God takes no pleasure of the destruction of wicked people.

And neither do we.

It’s a necessary work of a just God when sinners don’t find refuge underneath the blood and sin stained cross.

 

However, this coming day is different for God’s faithful.

For those who believe Jesus has atoned for their sins on the cross,

And are strengthened by the fruits of the tree,

For these, the sun’s heat won’t scorch them.

Rather, the sun will rise with healing in its wings.

 

These faithful will leap like calves from the stall,

For the joy that Christ is coming in His glory to resurrect us to bodily eternal life.

His first coming was in humility – born in a manger to a Nazarene Virgin.

In this coming, Jesus redeemed the world through the cross.

 

His second coming will be in glory – his clothes will be radiantly bright,

As he descends onto earth from heaven.

In this coming, Jesus will judge the living and the dead according to their faith.

 

How will we know this coming?

We won’t know exactly when – not even Jesus knows.

But just as trees bud in the springtime,

So will we know the signs when the Son of Man comes.

 

The creator of the world tells us to look for the signs in the sun, moon, and stars.

When the sun loses light, the moon breaks, and the stars fall from earth,

all will stand before the Son of Man.

These signs are obvious for the end of time – even for unbelievers.

But it will be too late, and only those who find refuge in the Christ will be saved.

 

These coming signs aren’t met with fear by God’s people.

Rather, they are met with anticipation and joy.

“Straighten up and raise your heads” says your Savior.

Look forward to this day,

For your Lord gives you vindication over wickedness from a lifetime of suffering!

Satan, his demons, and all who’ve tried to ensnare you in his traps will perish under the heat of that day.

But for you, your day of redemption is drawing near.

 

This is what the Lord wants for us all.

He wants us to turn back from our evil ways,

To avoid drunk hearts,

And be prepared for this coming day.

 

He wants us to “stay awake at all times,

praying that we may have the strength to escape these things that will take place.”

So as Christians, Jesus has given us the task of engaging in spiritual practices like reading our Bibles, praying, talking with our loved ones about the things that are truly important in our lives.

If you don’t, the cares of this world will subtly catch up,

and you’ll fall asleep or get drunk.

So, keep awake.

 

Because as Christians, we keep vigil for our coming Lord.

This is actually what we do during the season of Advent.

We pray together in Church.

We keep Vigil together.

We watch out for the spiritual lives of each other,

As we look forward to His second coming.

 

But also as Christians during Advent,

we pray for strength to avoid the snares of wickedness.

The devil, his minions, and all who are drunk on Satan’s limited power will try and tear you away from God’s grace given in Church.

So be warned of the things that keep you from church –

For this is what the Lord tells us: watch yourselves.

For one day, we will stand before the Son of Man to be judged.

 

This warning is not only meant for you, but the church as a whole.

Look around and ask yourselves – “who haven’t I seen here in awhile?”

Invite them back to the riches of forgiveness in Christ’s holy Church,

lest their drunk hearts remain in the snares of devil.

 

Avoid the drunkenness of the night and live in the brightness of God’s grace.

This is God’s calling for you.

For He’s redeemed you, saved you, died for you, and He’s coming back for you.

Not because of your merit,

But because you’ve trusted in Him, His Words, and His Mercy.

 

INI