The 22nd Sunday after Pentecost | 09.11.2025 | 2 Thess 2:1-5, 13-17 | Beth A. Schlegel |

text  English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles  (or other version)

^{Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. …13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.}

Are Your Affairs in Order?

 Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

If you knew that you would die tomorrow, what would you do today? Martin Luther said he would plant a tree. Hopefully, most of us would update our last will and testament, make sure our life insurance policy is paid up, and tell our loved ones how important they are to us. We would make sure our digital passwords were available securely to our executor and maybe clear our browsing history. We call this “Getting our affairs in order”. These are things we do when the days of our lives are coming to an end.

But what about looking at it from another perspective? What do we do when we are about to make a new beginning? What if we are not looking back on our life as the door closes behind us, but what if we are looking ahead as a door is about to open in front of us? What if we are on the threshold between one door and the next? What if we are between the old life and the new? How do we live then? What do we do?

This is the situation of the Christian life. We live between Pentecost and the final coming of Jesus in glory. We live in the beginning of the new creation, but it is not yet completed. Or, to use another biblical image, the church is like bread dough into which the yeast has just been mixed, but we are not yet fully risen and baked.

Jesus has already come, lived, died, risen, ascended, and poured out the Holy Spirit on the church. But he has not yet returned in glory to judge the living and the dead and escort the full count of the redeemed into the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem. We live in the “already, but not yet”, as countless theologians have put it. But this is not limbo or purgatory; it is not a way station or waiting room as such. It is a time of living with the way things used to be behind us and the way things will be in front of us. But more than that – for us as Christians, we know the way things will be because Jesus has already demonstrated them – and so we live now in the manner of the future.

For example. Since we know that in the heavenly Jerusalem there is worship with the saints and angels singing before the throne of God, bowing before him and praising God with a loud voice “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts – heaven and earth are full of his glory! Hosanna in the highest!”

We do this too – however humbly.

And since we know that in the heavenly Jerusalem there is healing and forgiveness and nothing unclean or wicked will survive there, We confess our sins now – and we forgive one another now – and we seek healing and reconciliation now. This is how we get our spiritual affairs in order.

St. Paul writes in his letter to the Thessalonians,  stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.

At first, this may sound like we are going back into the room behind us, the old life, and hanging out until the next door opens, but that is not what the apostle is saying.

In the Bible, a tradition is something that is handed on – like a relay baton.  In this case, it is truth –

• God is creator.
• God is revealed as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• Jesus is fully God.
• Jesus is also fully human.
• Jesus died and rose from the dead to demonstrate the future for all humans who belong to him.
• We are set apart by water and the Holy Spirit for holy lives in the presence of God.
• Forgiveness is how we receive the mercy and grace of God in Jesus and how we share that grace and mercy with others.
• The Holy Spirit is preparing us for the life to come, when Jesus returns in full glory.

The traditions St. Paul speaks of are what we confess in the creeds and that help us distinguish truth from falsehood.

Holding fast to the truth that has been handed down from Jesus to the apostles to us is how we live on the threshold of the already but not yet. It is how we get our spiritual affairs in order.

Admittedly, it is easier said than done. Where do the creeds hit the rubber of life in 21^st. century America? Where do ancient letters of 1^st century apostles shape our modern lives?

Let’s think again about what it means to live in the manner of the future. Jesus is risen from the dead and therefore all things return to God. How does that fact shape how we think about our lives?

• Can we be less afraid and more hopeful about our future?
• Can we be more appreciative of beauty?
• Can we seek the good in what we experience?
• Can we be merciful and forgiving toward others? Even when they root for the other team?

At the beginning of this sermon, I painted a picture of us standing on a threshold on which behind us is a closed door and in front of us is a closed door. Behind us is the past, the old life, life before we were united with Jesus in baptism, before we heard the good news of life in Christ. In front of us is the door of life in Christ – the realm of God – the portal to the heavenly Jerusalem.

That door is no longer closed, however. It is ajar.

Jesus opened it for us and invites us to walk through that door with him. In fact, he stands in that doorway so that we may enter. It is not a doorway out of this life, but a doorway within this life so that, seeing our future in Christ, we may live now as those who live boldly, in hope, and with faith in our Savior. Then, when the day comes and that door stands wide open and Jesus leads the whole parade of saints in, we will be ready, having remained steadfast and true to the faith handed over to us.

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

©Beth A. Schlegel
pastorschlegel@live.com
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, York, PA, USA
Christ Lutheran Church, Manchester, PA, USA