Rev. Cary M. Richert

Sunday of the Fulfillment (B)

November 26, 2006

Come, Lord Jesus!

Revelation 1:4b-8

          Today is the last Sunday of the Church Year . . .the Sunday of the Fulfillment.  Today we focus on the fulfillment of all things . . .the time of our Lord's return in judgment.  Today's Gospel Reading reminds us that, we don’t and can't know the day and hour of Christ’s return, [Mark 13:32].  But, we do know this:

• That His return is certain and imminent, and . . .

• That we must constantly be ready for Christ's return by standing firm in faith to the end, so that when He returns we're prepared to meet Him.

After greeting the seven churches in the province of Asia with the Lord's grace and peace, John speaks of Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, [v.4] . . .God the Father, the timeless One who introduced Himself to Moses from the burning bush as I AM WHO I AM, [Exodus 3:14].  God the Father, who's completely faithful to His promises . . .who, in love, fully committed Himself to our salvation by giving His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life, [John 3:16]. 

Grace and peace also come to us from the seven-fold Spirit before the Father’s throne.  The Spirit described in a seven-fold way by the prophet Isaiah:  the Spirit of the Lord . . .the Spirit of wisdom, of understanding, of counsel, of power, of knowledge, of the fear of the Lord, [Isaiah 11:2].  The Spirit poured out by Christ at the first Pentecost.  The Spirit who lives in each believer through Holy Baptism.  The Spirit who nourishes your soul and strengthens your faith through God’s holy Word and Sacraments.  Truly, the Spirit who brings grace and peace!

John's greeting morphs into a doxology praising the glorious person and work of Jesus Christ, the real focus of our attention as we think about the end of all things to come.  Jesus, the faithful witness, who brings us the true knowledge of God.  Jesus, the firstborn from the dead, who was raised from the grave for you and me on the third day.  Jesus, the ruler of the kings of earth, sovereign over all . . .from whom alone comes the authority and power of all others to rule. 

Jesus is the center of all that will occur on the Last Day.  As we confess in the creed, He’s the One who will come to judge the living and the dead.  John elaborates on Christ's return:  Look, he's coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. [v.7] 

The Lord's return will be visible to every eye, for all will be raised from the dead to stand before the judgment throne of Christ.  And all will see Him, as the angels prophesied at Christ's ascension:  "Men of Galilee," (the angels) said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven," [Acts 1:10-11].

Jesus ascended visibly in the clouds.  He’ll return visibly with the clouds.  It'll be our first face-to-face meeting with the incarnate Christ!  Are you prepared?  Can you wait to see Him?  Come, Lord Jesus!  Those who pierced Him will see Him.  That's all of us.  We pierced Him with our sins.  Our sins were the nails that pierced His hands and feet on the cross, [Psalm 22:16].  Our sins were the spear that pierced His side, [Isaiah 53:5].  Our sins pierced the heart of Jesus, and were the reason Jesus cried out, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do," [Luke 23:34].  Christ's pierced hands, feet and side will be the visible sign of our Lord's humble, but victorious, work of our salvation.

Our sins and the sins of all people of the earth bring the mourning at Jesus' return, prophesied by John.  Unbelievers will mourn in hopeless grief and sorrow, in terror and despair, because the time of the Lord's grace is over!  No second chances to believe.  An eternal future of condemnation in hell with Satan awaits them.  Any mourning on the part of believers may be only a final realization that our sins, too, sent Jesus to the cross.

Do you fear the day of our Lord's return?  John comforts us:  To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--to him be glory and power for ever and ever! [v. 5-6].  Jesus loves you.  By His blood, Jesus freed you from the guilt and punishment you deserve for your sins.  Jesus made you and me and all people of true faith to be His kingdom, His people, His sons and daughters.  We're priests who serve the God of creation.  Would He have His own people fear Him on the day of His return?  NO, MOST CERTAINLY NOT!

There's nothing to fear at the day of our Lord’s return.  Christ is faithful to His promises, and He's promised:  Be faithful even unto death and I will give you the crown of eternal life, [Revelation 2:10].  He's promised:  In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am, [John 14:2-3].  And, Jesus guarantees every one of His gracious promises on the eternal power and authority of His holy name:  the Alpha and the Omega . . .who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty, [v.8].  Jesus and the Father are one!  There's nothing to fear, nothing at all, when our Lord returns. 

This past week you may have received your Advent devotional, "When Jesus Comes."  The introduction to our devotional this year reminds us of the critical importance of Christ's coming:

Advent leads us to Christmas, where we celebrate our Lord's first coming, His coming in the flesh, born of Mary.  But there’s more:  Jesus has promised that He will come again on the Last Day in an advent so glorious that every knee shall bow before Him.  Until then, Jesus comes to us in His means of grace, an advent veiled in Word and Sacrament.  All three of these advents are related, and we can't do without any of them.  If Jesus hadn't come in the flesh and gone to the cross, there would be only dread, not joy, for us in His glorious return on judgment Day.  Likewise, if He doesn't come in His means of grace to give us forgiveness of sins, we have no hope, because we remain unforgiven (and stand before Christ's judgment throne condemned).  And, if Jesus isn't going to return to deliver us to heaven, we remain forever in the grave. [T. Pauls, When Jesus Comes (2006), Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Boise, ID]

But Jesus has come:  when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons, [Galatians 4:4-5].  Jesus has come to bring forgiveness and salvation to sinful mankind through His suffering, death and resurrection.

Jesus still comes as the Word made flesh, whenever His Word is preached and taught in all its truth and purity . . .and whenever His body and blood are served in the bread and wine of His holy Supper for the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.

And yes, dear friends, the incarnate Christ is coming again!  He Himself testifies to this certainty:  Yes, I am coming soon, [Revelation 22:20].  To which His faithful Church responds with one voice:  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus!  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.