Mark 13:24-37

Why are people afraid of the end of the world? Doesn’t sound all that bad to me. This week, I made two visits to members who are either near death or had recently died. I found out the tenant in our parsonage just left in the middle of the night. And only recently do I believe we finally got the upper hand on a pesky and persistent plumbing problem that I can assure you upon an encounter would have humbled Moses himself.

And yet, things could have been worse. Our immediate family, fresh off of a nice Thanksgiving week, are in good health, have food enough to eat, and pursue things we find interesting and fun. Our car didn’t break down, the roof doesn’t leak, and the furnace works. The point is that a relatively bad week could have been much worse.

So when Jesus comes, it will be a good thing. It will be an escape – or perhaps “rescue” is a better word – from the sin and death and hardship that this life in a fallen world demands. We will no longer be bound by the laws of physics that trap us and our sinful natures that tempt us. We will not be stuck in these decaying bodies and burdened by the constant demands of our homes falling apart, communities in turmoil, and nations at war.

Our attitude as Christians is not, “Oh no!” But rather, “How soon?” True, there are some things I have imagined and planned for that I suppose I might miss if they simply never happened. Our children and our grandchildren’s lives, our work’s goals, seeing if the thing you have been working on and building up will actually amount to something or not. Whenever Jesus comes, he will find the whole world engaged in work, in wedding planning, in the planting of orchards, in the building of skyscrapers. All of that will become moot.

But it is better that Jesus does come, and the sooner the better. There is only one reason these apocalyptic texts hold any cause for concern at all: if we are not yet ready. Yes, for the unprepared, these are terrifying images: heavenly bodies being shaken, the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory, heaven and earth passing away. The unbeliever should be afraid.

For the judgement of God will be swift and it will be real. The sheep and the goats will be separated. Those who rejected God will not be allowed to enter God’s Kingdom. Jesus will say, as in the Parable of the Ten Maidens, “You call my name, but I never knew you.” As the rich man who denied Lazarus, a place of unquenchable fire does indeed await those who show disdain for God and live life on their own terms.

If you are concerned about the Lord’s coming again, that might be an indication that something is not quite right in your Spiritual life. Listen to your conscious. Are there sins that bother you? Are there broken relationships that need mending? Have you had a too-casual relationship with God? Have you gone through the motions but never really committed?

Or maybe you have imbibed too much bad teaching on the end times. Heaven knows it is everywhere in evangelical circles. Many evangelicals believe that Christ will come and take the elect away and the rest of us will have to fend for ourselves in some dystopian nightmare. There are variations on themes of the millennial reign of Christ, one where Christ rules after the world for 1,000 years only after it has largely or totally been converted to his Will. (Post-Millennialism.) And another where Christ reigns at the start of this 1,000 years, usually only after the world has totally fallen apart. (Pre-Millennialism.) Throw in a Rapture and a Tribulation and you have a confusing mess of evaporating bodies, 7-year purgations, and Christ acting as World President. Some of those bizarre teachings are enough to scare even faithful Christians!

But for faithful Christians, the end times are nothing to be afraid of. Indeed, we wish they would hurry up and get here already.

Still, that might leave a Christian wondering, “Am I a faithful Christian?” Indeed, this was a question that came up during a recent podcast conversation between myself, a Presbyterian friend, and two Roman Catholics. How can we dare to call ourselves Christian if we are not perfect as Christ is, if we still struggle with sin? How can we have perfect assurance that when Christ comes again that we will be found worthy of Him? Maybe we do have something to be worried about after all? Maybe texts like Mark 13 really are terrifying!?

Well, actually, I hope every Christian asks questions like that from time to time. Every Christian should have those moments of doubt, of self-reflection where they hate what they see. Every Christian should think highly enough of God’s holiness that they understand how and where they fall short and are not worthy. But we are to remember that God is a greater savior than we are a sinner.

And while we will be made perfect when we are glorified when Christ comes again, we are still growing towards perfection in this life now. The fancy word for that is „sanctification.” None of us are where we want to be, but by God’s grace, through prayer, perhaps fasting, accountability, and confession, we are getting there. Hopefully, in all our lives we can look back and see progress over the course of years that we might not observe over the course of days.

One thing is for sure: either when the trumpet sounds and Jesus returns, or when we die, we will be found to be sinners on that day. We will not have achieved the perfection we seek. But it is also true that we should fight against sin and not be content as we are. Just because Jesus saves sinners does not mean we get to put that grace to the test. Rather, we take comfort in that grace while asking for the grace to pursue virtue and holiness.

In terms of some assurance of your salvation when the bell tolls, ask yourself this: do you confess Christ as Lord? For even though you are a sinner, we can know that we possess God’s Spirit if we confess Christ as Lord. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12, “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.”

So, if you confess that Christ is Lord, if you are burdened by your sins and are seeking forgiveness for them, the Lord will find you in a good place when he comes again. So do not fear! But rather join me in saying, “Oh Lord, no longer delay!” Amen.

Pastor Evan McClanahan

First Lutheran, Houston