Bloghardt's Reflector

“Every eye shall now behold Him Robed in glorious majesty, those who set at naught and sold Him, pierced and nailed Him to the tree, deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing, shall their true messiah see.” (LSB 336, 2)

So, He’s coming.  It’s not an if, it’s not even a when, but more a “how soon?”  Near.  For Jesus says, “when all these things take place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.”

Now, it’s easy not to believe that He’s near.  It’s been many generations since Jesus spoke these words.  It’s easy to get weighed down with the day to day activities and to begin to despair.  

When the Lord speaks of alcohol and drunkenness, He’s speaking about the ways we cover just how unhappy we are.  The alcohol isn’t the problem, it’s the using it to alter our reality, to change how we are, to make our universe more livable.

Despair.  Caused by a life not going the way we want it to go.  An unhappy job, marriage, or life.  Kids that don’t live the way we want them to live.  Not getting the respect we want or think that deserve in the universe we live in.

Faithlessness.   God isn’t allowing our lives to go the way we want them to go.  Unbelief.  Lacking the real belief that God is actually coming back to save us.

Fear.  Grips us, doesn’t it?  That when God comes back, He’s going to be so displeased with us, so angry with us, for how we have lived and what we have done in our life that there simply is no hope.  So, why bother?

So, we distract ourselves.  We get consumed in our work, our hobbies, our job, our games, our dreams, or some substance like alcohol.  We wander off into shameful sins.  Anything but what’s really going on in this dreadful real world- with our family, children, vocation, and life.

Or we convince ourselves that we aren’t so bad, things are better, we are getting better, doing better.  The guy on tv tells us that if we lose weight, stop drinking, God cares about us.

But, we know.. don’t we?  When it’s dark and quiet, we know.  God’s not pleased with us - not happy.  

Who can save us?  From the failures in our family?  From how we treat those around us?  From our sins?  From our darkness? From our .... lives?

“Those dear tokens of His passion still His dazzling Body bears, cause of endless exultation, to His ransomed worshipers.  With what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture, gave we on those glorious scars.” (LSB 336, 3)

The One who comes in the clouds, the One who comes on the Last Day, is the One bearing those scars.

Jesus dies for your sins.  He dies bearing them.  He dies having lived His life perfectly for you.  So, that your salvation, your rescue, the meaning of your life, the reason for living, the reason the Last Day is a happy day and not a deadly day for you is the Cross.

The generation who heard Jesus speak these Words today didn’t pass away before they saw what the Last Day will be like - rocks splitting, sun darkening, the dead coming out of their tombs, all of it happened when Jesus died, when God died on the Cross.  Then, the kingdom of God truly came!

The Cross is the preview, the picture, the fulfillment of the Last Day for you.  So, if you want to see what the Last Day will be like, Look to the Cross.  There you see it.

The generation Jesus spoke didn’t pass away before they saw the the Son of Man do what He was sent to do - die on the Cross.

Now, God cannot be mad at you any more.  He won’t hate you.  He can’t after Calvary, the Cross. 

You are forgiven from all that would harm you - today, on the Last Day, or the hour of your death.  The Lord is not coming to destroy you, He’s coming to rescue you, to save you.

Dear friends, this world is terrified about the end of the world.  They fear it.  When I was growing up, it was nuclear war with Russia.  In 2000, the world feared some catastrophe that would end life as we know it.  Remember, Y2K?  Then, it was an asteroid hitting the earth.  

Now, it’s like this 2012 stuff.  We never hear about the Mayans, until the planets are about to line up and suddenly the world is going to end.

But for you, there is nothing to fear.  When the world starts coming apart at the seams, when it’s darkest, Jesus says look up for your redemption draws near.

So, when your life seems darkest, when your world is coming apart, when you realize that the distractions and things you do to make your world more bearable don’t really work, look up.  Look to Jesus.  He’s coming.  

He will save you.  You can be certain of it.  You can count on it.  When you see Him in the clouds of Heaven, when God comes, He’s coming to save you.  Believe for certain.. Don’t doubt.  He’s coming to rescue you.

How do I know?  He already has saved you on the Cross.  His return on the Last Day is just simply the fulfillment of the salvation that He won for you on the Tree.

In the Font, you were saved.  In the water, the Last Day was made a happy day.  All your sins, taken away.  Washed away - the Last Day washed clean too for you.

In the wWord today, Jesus absolved you.  He advented to you - making your Last day not something to fear, but to look forward to... To pray for.  Even so, Come Lord Jesus.

In His Supper, He feeds you a foretaste of the Last Day.  Take eat His Body.  Take drink His Blood.  Be forgiven.  Be prepared by Him for His return.  

So, let your life be filled with that certainty, dear Friends.  Let it change how you go about your life from this day forward.  

How you treat your family.  How you deal with your neighbor.  How you tend to your problems and life.  Let this simple fact be what carries you through: 

Jesus is coming soon to save you.  Any time now.  No more need for despair.  No more need for distraction.  He’s going to save you.  Just watch and see!

God is coming - to save you.  God is coming - to pull you out of this veil of tears.  God is coming, adventing, and your world is never going to be the same again.  

He has saved you, forgiven you, washed your sins away, and fed you.  You are His.

And when you see Him, look up and rejoice.  For your redemption, your buying back, draws near.

“Yea, Amen, let all adore Thee.  High on Thine eternal throne.  Savior, take the pow’r and gory.  Claim the kingdom as Thine own.  Alleluia.  Alleluia.  Alleluia, Thou shalt reign and Thou alone.” (LSB 336, 4)

In the name of Jesus, who is coming soon. Amen.