{"id":20378,"date":"2024-11-27T14:33:17","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T13:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theologie.whp.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=20378"},"modified":"2024-11-27T14:33:17","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T13:33:17","slug":"luke-2125-36-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/luke-2125-36-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Luke 21:25-36"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 1st<\/sup> Sunday in Advent | 12\/1\/2024 | A Sermon on Luke 21:25-36 | by The Rev. Dr. Judson F Merrell, STS |<\/h3>\n

25 „There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a026 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a027 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a028 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.“<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a029 He told them this parable: „Look at the fig tree and all the trees.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a030 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a031 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a032 „Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a033 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a034 „Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a035 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a036 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.“ <\/strong><\/p>\n

New International Version\u00a0(NIV)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Holy Bible, New International Version\u00ae, NIV\u00ae Copyright \u00a91973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by\u00a0Biblica, Inc.\u00ae\u00a0Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n

In his letter to the Romans St. Paul writes the following:<\/p>\n

7<\/sup> For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8<\/sup> If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9<\/sup> For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. (Rom 14:7-9 NIV)<\/p>\n

What does it mean to \u201clive for the Lord\u201d?\u00a0 Does it mean to live in comfort and safety?\u00a0 Does it mean to devote an hour a week to church?\u00a0 Or does it mean to relinquish all control and put our faith solely in the Lord that tells us he will return to usher in Salvation for all creation?\u00a0 When this will be, we don\u2019t know.\u00a0 But we know to prepare ourselves and to be ready.\u00a0 We know to be vigilant, to stay awake and keep watch.\u00a0 That was the message we heard last week and it is the message we hear again today.\u00a0 But there is one subtle difference between the Markan text we heard last week and the version from Luke we have today.\u00a0 In our Gospel today, Jesus calls on his disciples to not only be on watch, but to pray.\u00a0 Prayer is where we find ourselves living to the Lord.<\/p>\n

In a sermon on this text, Martin Luther said that our Lord is cautioning \u201chis Christians against becoming secure, so that the day of his coming might not come upon them unawares; he comforts them also so that they will not be terrified at the signs which will precede Judgment Day but rather rejoice that their redemption is drawing near.\u201d[1]<\/a>\u00a0 Luther goes on to say that as Christians, we should rejoice when we see changes in the world around us, even and perhaps especially if they seem bad.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because as Christians we are reminded that the coming of the Lord is a great and terrible day.\u00a0 Luther points to verse 28, where Jesus tells his disciples to stand up and raise your heads when you see these things happening.\u00a0 In the midst of all of this is prayer.\u00a0 Prayer of thankfulness that our Lord is returning.\u00a0 Joyful prayer that God is returning creation to perfection. Jubilant prayer that God is calling his people to live with him in his kingdom forever.\u00a0 We pray this each and every week when we pray \u201cThy kingdom come.\u00a0 Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.\u201d\u00a0 In the midst of the doom and gloom God\u2019s children find hope, joy, jubilance, and thankfulness.\u00a0 This is living for the Lord.<\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 second coming is a part of our weekly confession of faith and something we hope for.\u00a0 Do we hope for changes in nature, in the sun, the moon, and the stars?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Do we hope for wars, or distress among the nations.\u00a0 Certainly not.\u00a0 But we hope for Christ to come, and Jesus tells us what has to happen in order for him to return.\u00a0 Thinking about that, we can look at our lesson and see that perhaps what Jesus is telling us is not so much a warning, but instead a comfort so that we can handle those things in a better way.\u00a0 A comfort because in the midst of living to the Lord we are called to pray.<\/p>\n

The parable of the fig tree reminds us that the times of cold are needed so that rejuvenation can happen when the warmth comes.\u00a0 The day of the Lord will be like a change from the winter cold to the summer sun.\u00a0 When we see trees start to put out new shoots that is not a terrible thing.\u00a0 It is a sign of newness, a sign of growth, spring is near and summer is just around the corner.\u00a0 The cold and the dreariness are going away, and the warmth and light is coming.\u00a0Is that not also how it will be with the second coming of the Son of Man?\u00a0 Surely all the cold and dreariness will be there.\u00a0 That is what we prepare for so that we can see the warmth of the outcome\u2026The outcome of all this is that we will be standing before the Son of Man.\u00a0 The outcome is the forgiveness of sins and redemption for all of creation.\u00a0 Why would be not be ecstatic about that?\u00a0 We know that that moment will probably be terrifying, but terrifyingly good.\u00a0 As humans it is hard to realize we are absolutely not in control of everything.\u00a0 We all like control because we like order to our lives.\u00a0 We live by our own schedules.\u00a0 But when we die, we live to the Lord, and to the Lord alone.\u00a0 As we begin Advent today\u2026we wait with our heads high.\u00a0 We pray for the One who will come on the clouds and deliver us from all the misery of the world.\u00a0 May God grant us the patience and the strength to hold fast until the great and terrible day of the Lord.\u00a0 In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

\u00a9The Rev. Dr. Judson F Merrell, STS<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 judsonmerrell@bellsouth.net<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 St. Peter\u2019s Lutheran Church<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 Lexington, SC USA<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Klug, Eugene, ed. Sermons of Martin Luther:The House Postils Vol. 1 pg. 37ff <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 1st Sunday in Advent | 12\/1\/2024 | A Sermon on Luke 21:25-36 | by The Rev. Dr. Judson F Merrell, STS | 25 „There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. \u00a026 People will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,605,157,853,108,110,235,116,349,3,109],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-20378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lukas","category-1-advent","category-beitragende","category-bibel","category-current","category-engl","category-judson-f-merrell","category-kapitel-21-chapter-21","category-kasus","category-nt","category-predigten"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20378"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20379,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20378\/revisions\/20379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20378"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=20378"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=20378"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=20378"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=20378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}