Sermon: Luke 21:25-36 – Waiting and Watching

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon: Luke 21:25-36 – Waiting and Watching
Grace Presbyterian Church
November 29, 2009

Listen to this sermon.

This morning the church celebrates the First Sunday of Advent. During Advent we prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus Christ into our lives. The coming of Jesus is not something that we do. Rather it is something God does for us. So all we can do is to wait and watch. The ancient prophets waited and watched for the day that the messiah would come and fulfill God’s promise to David that his descendant would sit on his throne forever. In the first century a teenage girl waited for the birth of her son and watched the reaction of the people around her to this unexpected event. In Jesus’ time people waited and watched for the Roman legions that they feared might destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. Today, children learn to wait and to watch for Christmas and the arrival of Santa Clause and gifts. We may think that we are active people but we spend a lot of our time waiting for something to happen. So it is helpful to remember what we are really waiting for and watching for this Advent, the coming of Jesus Christ. As we wait and watch for Jesus Christ it is important to pray. So please pray with me.

Eternal God, as you led your people in ages past, you direct our journey into the future. We give you thanks that you came to us in Jesus Christ, and we eagerly await his coming again that his rule may be complete and your righteousness reign over all the world. Then we will feast at his royal banquet, and sing his praises with the choirs of heaven. By your Spirit, open our eyes to the generosity of your hand, and nurture our souls in all spiritual gifts. Fill us with gratitude overflowing that we may share life and love in praise to you, God of all the ages, in the gracious name of Jesus Christ, your Son, by the power of your Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen. (Book of Common Worship pp. 171-2)

Luke 21:25-36 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. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." 29 Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven 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, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be 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."

You are probably thanking God right now that I am just a guest preacher. Why, you must be wondering, did I select that scripture for this morning? After all it is Christmas. You have been buying gifts for a month now. The shopping malls are all decorated. Santa Claus has arrived in Glendale. Christmas carols are being played on the radio. Certainly you expected celebration of Christmas at church in Advent. But there is no Santa, no Mary and child, no angels and no shepherds in today’s scripture. These words of Jesus are filled with frightening images about a world shaken to its foundation. So you must be thankful that the guest preacher is only here for one week and Pastor Al will return to the pulpit next Sunday.

Of course the way the church prepares for Christmas is very different from the way our culture prepares for it. We are waiting not for Santa and decorated trees and gifts, but for the return of our Savior. Jesus warns us to stay awake and keep alert because he could return at any moment. And according to Jesus he will return when we need him the most. The good news is that as our nation’s recession deepens and unemployment and deficits rise we need not despair because this means that Jesus’ return is very near and all we have to do is to wait and watch. The coming of Jesus means that we can be filled with hope that no matter what is happening in our lives our savior is on the way.

I suspect that each of you has experienced some form of loss this year and need a savior to come. Some of you may have lost a family member, or you have lost your health or a job. I know that some of you have experienced the loss of your church. It was a terrible time for you as you felt abandoned by your pastor and the presbytery. And now you must worship in a strange place this Advent. But one of you saw, in all of this, the signs that Jesus’ coming is near. In the midst of the pain and fear of the closing of a church one of you has enrolled in seminary and is studying our Presbyterian Constitution to hear Jesus speak though the accumulated wisdom of the church. She is learning, even in the midst of the tearing apart of the fabric of the church, that Jesus is still with us and cares for us and is leading the church to a glorious future. All we have to do is to watch and wait for his return.

The prophet Jeremiah spoke to the people of God after the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon six hundred years before Jesus. Their temple had been burned to the ground. And the people had been taken into exile. God must have seemed very far away at that time. All the people of God could do was to watch and wait. But Jeremiah knew that God still loved his people very much and he wrote these comforting words of hope.
Jeremiah 33:14-16 14 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: "The LORD is our righteousness."

What sustained the exiles in Babylon was their faith that God would save them. They believed that the Son of Man, would come down from heaven in a cloud and rescue them from their captivity. The prophet Daniel saw this in a vision of the coming of a savior for God’s people. Here is what he said.

Daniel 7:13-14 13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

So our hope, this Advent, is not in the government, or in business, or in our own abilities or even in the church. No, our hope is in the God who loves us, died for us, and promises to return when we need him the most. Just watch the signs of the times and know that these are indications that Jesus is on the way.

As we wait and watch for Jesus there is something that we can do. We can meditate on God’s Word. Reading the Bible prepares us to recognize Jesus when he does return. The psalmist put it this way.
Psalm 25 4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.

So we read scripture to know how to live our lives as people waiting and watching for Jesus. In the Bible we learn that while we wait we can trust in God. We learn to distinguish the truth of God from the lies of the world. We find out that God loves us and forgives us. And we are prepared for the glorious return of Jesus.

I am becoming an expert in waiting and watching for Jesus. My service at Eagle Rock Presbyterian church ended earlier this month. I am now waiting and watching for God to call me to a new church. I have sent resumes to churches all over the country. I have had some rejections from churches that I really wanted. But the longer I wait and watch the more I am certain that my savior is on the way. I trust that Jesus himself will call me to a new church in the near future. So I pray, meditate on scripture, wait and watch.

Jesus is coming this Advent. The signs are all around us. People are in distress and need a savior. The nation is at war and in recession and needs a savior. The world groans under the weight of human sin and needs a savior. And the good news of Advent is that the church can proclaim the coming of Jesus Christ, our savior.

So as we go through Advent remember that God has a big present for us. I know it is difficult waiting for this gift. We watch the sign of the Christmas season and long for the day we can open it. The gift we are waiting and watching for is none other than the return of our savior, Jesus Christ.

Eternal God, you taught us that the night is far spent and the day is at hand.
Keep us awake and alert, watching for your kingdom, and make us strong in faith, so that when Christ comes in glory to judge the earth, we may joyfully give him praise; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Book of Common Worship p.173)