Malachi 4:1-6

23^rd Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 28) | November 13, AD 2022 | Malachi 4:1-6; Psalm 98; 2 Thessalonians 3(1-5)6-13; Lk 21:5-36 | Andrew F. Weisner |

Malachi 4:1-6
See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. ²But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. ³And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. ⁴Remember the teaching of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. ⁵Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. ⁶He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.

Psalm 98

2 Thessalonians 3:(1-5) 6-13
Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere, just as it is among you, ²and that we may be rescued from wicked and evil people; for not all have faith. ³But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. ⁴And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will go on doing the things that we command. ⁵May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. ⁶Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. ⁷For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. ⁹This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. ¹⁰For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. ¹¹For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. ¹²Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. ¹³Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.

Luke 21:5-28, 29-36
⁵When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ⁶“As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” ⁷They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” ⁸And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them. ⁹“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” ¹⁰Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; ¹¹there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. ¹²“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. ¹³This will give you an opportunity to testify. ¹⁴So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; ¹⁵for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. ¹⁶You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷You will be hated by all because of my name. ¹⁸But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹By your endurance you will gain your souls. ²⁰“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. ²¹Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it; ²²for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written. ²³Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; ²⁴they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ²⁵“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. ²⁶People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. ²⁸Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

²⁹Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. ³²Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. ³⁴“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, ³⁵like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Homily

         On the Church calendar…. not the school calendar, which begins in late-August/early September; and not the general secular (i.e., political) calendar, running January through December, but, the Church calendar, beginning in Advent, followed by Christmas and going until the conclusion of Ordinary Time, which culminates in two weeks, the Sunday of Christ the King… on the Churchcalendar, we are near the end of the year. Our Sunday scripture readings for this time of year reflect the “End Times” or “Final Things,” for example, today’s Gospel reading, reflecting what some people tend to think of as  “pointing near the end of the world” events, references to “wars and rumors of wars,” nations rising against nations, earthquakes and famines, etc. etc.

         Today’s gospel, from St. Luke, chapter 21, along with Mark chapter 13, the Old Testament book of Daniel, and the New Testament book of Revelation, these certain books and sections of the Bible are often described as “apocalyptic,” i.e., not actual history, but writings which, through symbols and signs, are interpretations of what was, back then, in Old Testament and New Testament times, predictions of a future where tribulations and sorrows will give place to God’s eventual gift of triumph and peace.

         I remember, as a child, sitting in my grandmother’s living room, hearing the older folks, with a sense of dread, talking about what those „final days“ will be like: “earthquakes, famines, wars and rumors of wars.” Folks, we are in them, those “final days.” I do not mean to say that “The End” is coming next week, next month, next year, or the year after. I do not mean to say that you ought to sell all your property and go live in a tent in the woods, waiting for the End. But, still, we are living, in a sense, in the “End Times.”

Is it not the case? Are there not, in some places around the world, famines? Is it not the case, from time to time, we read in the newspaper or hear on the news about earthquakes? Are there not, among us, “wars and rumors of wars,” especially in Ukraine, and threats and concerns over what Russia may do next since Russia’s leaders are not „winning“ the war with Ukraine the way they expected? And the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple to which Jesus refers in today’s gospel at the beginning of our reading, as one of the “signs” of “The End,”  that has already happened — in the year 70!

These signs – earthquakes and famines, wars and rumors of wars – have always been among us, because God, the creator and ruler of all that is, is slowly bringing creation’s story toward its ultimate fulfillment. And we, and all who have come before us, are – have been – living in the midst of the movement toward the End of history. Threatening, challenging, unpleasant events happen, and will happen, around us, and to us. But these events are not the final word, they are not “the end of the story.” The end of the story is that suffering and death has been overcome. The innocent ones, to whom so many unfortunate events happen, are personified in Jesus of Nazareth, the innocent man who was accused, arrested, mistreated, and crucified. And the story of Jesus is the story of what happens to us, and to the world’s history: yes, suffering and death, but also resurrection, new life, new beginning, and life in a new world, a new kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. Emerging from a life of anxiety, toil and struggle, hardship, and worry and war, a new day will come, a new dawn shall break upon us – one day! The resurrection of Jesus is the promise of it.

Until that day comes, there are in this world signs of resurrection, signs of new life, signs of the presence of the kingdom of God, all around us. Any time we hear of something good in this world, that is a sign of the presence of the rule, the Will, of the kingdom of God.

And until the ultimate End comes, we have God’s promise, the promise of God spoken by the resurrected Christ: “Behold, I am with you always, even to the close of this age, even to the end of the world.” At our baptism he promises it to each of us individually. And here, in gatherings such as this one, just as he promises, he comes to us to sustain us until the ultimate End, giving us strength to endure until the End, by giving us his own presence, his own self, veiled under the forms of bread and wine. – Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

The Rev. Andrew F. Weisner, Ph.D.,
The North American Lutheran Church (NALC)
Antioch Lutheran Church, Dallas, North Carolina