Matthew 25: 1-13
I know most of you don’t watch the news, but it’s been somewhat of a crazy week. I’m not here to preach the daily news, I’m not going to get too detailed into that. I assure you though, the fact that our readings are focussed around the end times are not because of what is specifically happening in the news right now. With constant recounts, with concerns of fake new and false reports about the election, and in addition to dealing with the virus and racial justice, we realize this is an incredibly tense time. I can’t tell you how many times i’ve been asked as a Pastor, “Do you think these are signs of the end of the world?”. Perhaps some of you in the pews are wondering about that right now. And my answer is “Yes! Of Course these are signs!”.
The scriptures give us signs to look for about the end. Jesus gave his disciples signs to look for too. It’s not hard to look at the world around us and wonder if it is falling apart at the seams. But rather than being convinced that the End of the World is just now coming to an end because of what is going on, listen to what Jesus said in his parable for us today.
13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Jesus told that to his disciples 2000 years ago. If he told that to them, 2000 years ago, do you think they would have thought that this world would last another 2000 years? Yet here we are. And in the 2000 years since, Christians have seen themselves being the outcasts of both Roman and Jewish society, to becoming a tolerated religion, to becoming a state religion. Our faith has seen huge splits in denominations especially in the last 500 years. Christians have seen plagues, they have suffered under tyrants, they have been the target of government backed exterminations.
America became the stronghold for Christianity, and yet now we are seeing it disappear here around us. I’m not saying America will completely forsake Christianity, but because of our current dwindling numbers here, Africa is becoming the continent that will be the center of Christianity for coming years.
We may be living in extraordinary times for our lifetimes, but we should not be so unaware as to think what we are dealing with today is so much worse than what has come before. The faith has seen worse diseases, it’s seen worse leaders, regardless of you who you voted or again this week. We’re in the end times now, but we have been for a while. This is the long night.
I don’t mean to diminish what we’ve dealt with this year. It has been a truly hard time. But Christ sustains His Church no matter what this sinful world manifests. We are dealing with as strange of circumstances as any of us have seen. But God’s Word advises us the same as it has all generations. 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. We’re in the long watch of the night now. Nobody knows when the end will come, nobody knows when Jesus will return. That’s why we must be awake, watching, and vigilant. Our Lord could return at any time, not just because of what the news is reporting.
As your pastor, another way to say what Jesus said is to stay faithful. Don’t rely on yourselves to stay faithful, rely on what God gives you. In the parable, it was necessary that the virgins had oil for their lamps. The oil we need is the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit to be active in our lives. That’s why you’re here now. We’re not gathered here to defy any governor’s orders, to break health codes or ignore science, nor are you here simply just to give God praise. You’re here to receive from our God, that his Spirit might be active in his Word and Sacrament.
Watch therefore. Stay faithful. Keep the lamps of your soul bright with the Holy Spirit that Jesus sends. Your faith should be active in everything you do. Most notably, with those around you. Your family, your spouse, you friends, your coworkers. Those who you might actually occasionally within 6 feet interact with. Let your faith be something that is visible to all those around you. That doesn’t mean you have to give a Billy Graham sermon to everyone you meet, or hand out a Gideon Bible, but those around you should see the fruits of your faith. Our lamps should be full for our own sake, that we would remain faithful and watch for our Lord’s return, and yet our lamps also brightens others who see it.
Focus first on those around you. It’s far too easy to get caught up in the big picture of a presidential election. Yes, you can all wield your faith with your votes, and I hope you did no matter the results. But far more important is if we focus on those people around us we truly know. Is it clear to those around you that you have a lamp burning, anxiously awaiting our Lord’s return, even if it doesn’t happen yet in 2020?
It’s far too easy to let the world shape our faith life, we ought to let it be the other way around. Equip yourself with the Holy Spirit as oil. Let God’s wisdom through our faith shape how we understand the world. That’s why we encourage daily devotions. Devotions aren’t just something we “do”, and an objective or accomplishment to cross off our daily routine. God isn’t pleased in our own accomplishments. Rather doing devotions is about taking God’s word in your heart and letting it shape who you are. It reminds us what our God has accomplished for us. Home devotions are done best when they are something you think and meditate on the rest of your day. That’s the Holy Spirit at work, encouraging and shaping you against how the world might try to shape you.
Don’t let Satan use the division of this election, or pandemic, or anything else to ruin your faith life. The more this life causes us despair, the more reason we should seek God’s wisdom in his Word and in our prayers. We should always have confidence about us as Christians, that’s how we can faithfully watch through the night. St. Paul told us about this confidence. Even in the face of death, we’re told how to handle this.
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Open your hearts to God’s Word, let his Holy Spirit be active, and let the confidence it gives us be visible and resonant in all that you do. Remember your baptism into God’s family, the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit inscribed upon you. Remember, make the sign of the cross over yourself, marking you as one purchased by Christs’ death. Know that we who have been baptized into Christ have put on his righteousness, our sinful flesh has been buried so that the new man will certainly be resurrected just as Jesus was.
Take this confidence with you everywhere you go. Take it first to your families. Let your friends and coworkers see this confidence too. As a church, we’ll take this confidence with us in speaking the truth in love. We’ll speak the truth no matter what governments legalize or abolish. We speak the truth to encourage others, knowing that God works through us regardless of how successful or unsuccessful we seem to be. We don’t measure our faith by success in this sinful world, we’re looking forward to the world to come. That’s why we’re confident no matter what we face here, and that’s why we’re always watching, and living accordingly.
We must be faithful in our watch through this night, but don’t look to yourself for the strength and endurance needed. Let Jesus provide that for you. Hear his word and take it with you, dwell on it during the day. Receive the life giving mana of Jesus’ Body and Blood. If you are struggling or need encouragement, reach out to me, let me be your pastor to guide and shepherd you.
We all need our own lamps and our own oil, but we’re in this watch of the night together. Let us first be encouraged by our Lord Jesus, and then encourage one another.