Provoke one Another
Grace and peace from our
Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ.
Our readings this morning
paint a picture that feels simultaneously dreadful and comforting. The passages highlight the destruction
predicted for the end times. In each
case, though, we hear a balance between dark and light. We are children of the light and can be
confident in the promise of salvation.
Jesus is 100% reliable.
The reading from Daniel foreshadows
a time of unprecedented distress at the end of time, but promises a Great
Prince will be present to protect us then.
We can imagine a swirling vortex of darkness and chaos, but the Light of
the World will be standing serenely at its center, just as He has always been. That Prince, of course, is Christ. Scripture promises that everyone whose name
is found written in the book will be delivered.
Could Christ return in our
lifetime? I’ve been hearing people say
that quite often lately, but perhaps every generation feels that things have
gotten so very terrible that it must be true this time. Could Christ explode onto the scene
today? Jesus tells us, “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my
name and say, ‘I am he!’” How do
we know we won’t be led astray? When you
hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t panic or waste time imagining what’s
going on. That’s just going to be the
beginning of the pain.
The famous scientist, Sir
Isaac Newton, was born on Christmas
Day in 1642, about 370 years ago. What
you might not remember about him is that he was also a theologian. Based on his reading of the Bible, he might argue
that we’re already living in the end times.
In fact, he predicted a new mode of travel would be invented in the last
days that would allow us to travel at the absolutely unheard of speed of 50
mph.
Should we just wait and
worry? No. The scriptures tell us plainly that nobody can know the day or the hour (Matt. 24:36-37).
We are told to be ready and to watch, though. So, what’s the difference between waiting and
watching? If we’re watching, we’re also
waiting, but if we’re only waiting, we’re not necessarily actively
watching for something to happen. For example, say your friend is flying to
Michigan to visit you from a thousand miles away. Would you stay at home and wait, or would you
go out to the airport and watch for their plane to land? Believers need to do more than sit around passively
waiting; we’re supposed to watch faithfully, confident that redemption is near.
The message is to be
ready; don’t be surprised. But how could
we not
be surprised? The Bible tells us to
WATCH. There are two places in the Bible
that discourage speculation about just when Jesus might return. I already mentioned “no one knows the day or
the hour.” The other is, “The Day of the
Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). A thief who comes in the night probably won’t
send you a text at 3am to ask, “You ready for company, or would it be better if
I drop by and rob your house tomorrow?”
The psalmist sings a song
of Trust and Security in God, reminding us that, no matter what happens, the
Lord will protect us because we are His:
My
body also rests secure.
For
you do not give me up to Sheol,
Or
let your faithful one see the Pit.
You
show me the path of life.
Sheol is the place of the
dead, but “You show me the path of life!”
Because Christ took our place, we can be sure we’ll never have to spend
time among the dead. There’s an early
Christian custom of commemorating each martyr annually on the date of his or
her birth into heaven. So, you can look
forward to a birthday party!
God wills abundant life
for you. By a single offering he
declared his children free from sin for all time, saying, He will forget their
sins and lawless deeds. Stick to that
guarantee like glue, for the one who promises life to us cannot fail. Let go of the guilt and doubt; your sins are
absolutely and truly forgiven.
We know that we don’t
deserve forgiveness, so we sometimes harbor doubt. Luther wrote about how we all struggle to
accept the gift of forgiveness in Christ, but how the Holy Spirit lives in us
to enlighten and reassure us. Treasure
the gift of the Spirit that began in you at your Baptism. We can gain great confidence when we lean on
the sacrifice Christ made for us. He will
raise you up at the last day and give everlasting life to all believers. God's Word is the treasure that sanctifies
everything.
The temple in Jerusalem
was the most amazing structure the disciples had ever seen. Jesus lets them know that its destruction
will be the greatest tribulation since the beginning of the world. Well, all of you have been witnesses to worse
tribulations than that in your lifetime.
There are eight sovereign states that have successfully
detonated nuclear weapons. We live in a time when many have the power to
destroy the entire earth. It wouldn’t
take much time or very many bombs to do it.
The Temple seemed unassailable to the disciples, like many things that
we assume will always be there. Remember
that God has the power to transform lives every single minute on an infinite
scale.
Now I’d like to provoke
you. Most of us associate the word
provoke with fights that happen when one person does something to get a
negative reaction from another person.
The original meaning of provoke, used in Hebrews, though, is to “call
out” or stir to action. Hmmm, isn’t that
just like our Bible? To take a perfectly
nasty word and completely change the way we think about it.
So I’m calling you out,
provoking you, if you will, to pass along the good news of salvation to others. How can we begin to do that? Well, we can:
be the answer to someone’s prayer; meet together in worship; welcome a
stranger; feed someone who’s hungry; clean a wound; teach a child; help each
other; be real; pay attention to the lonely; sit with the sick; offer
hospitality; listen to the concerns of others; embrace the hurting; and forgive each other.
Provoke others. Call out their best desires, hopes, dreams,
and behavior. Remind yourself of how
much you’ve been forgiven because when God loves you, nothing can harm you—even
if you think you see the end of days on the horizon.
Maybe
you’ve heard the story about a woman who survived an earthquake. Her entire house was rubble. Just ten feet of a wall was left standing
where her house used to be. She walked
to the wall and straightened a picture there.
When asked why, she responded, “This is all I can do right now.” Focusing on what’s right in front of you can
keep you from worrying about what might happen in the future. You never know how making faithful choices
might provoke acts of love and good deeds in others. Amen