Sermon -- Last Sunday of the Church Year (November 23, 2025)

LUKE 12:35-40

KEEP WAITING.  KEEP WATCHING.

In the name + of Jesus.

    Every week we confess it: “He will come again to judge the living and the dead” (Apostles’ Creed).  Every day, we pray for it: “Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20)!  We should always remember Jesus’ instructions: “No one knows when that day and hour will be, not the angels of heaven, not even the Son, but only the Father.  Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be when the Son of Man returns.  In fact, in the days before the flood people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the very day that Noah entered the ark.  And they did not realize what was coming until the flood came and took them all away.  That is how it will be when the Son of Man returns” (Matthew 24:36-39).  For many, the Last Day will come as a shock.  Life will be going on as it always has.  Many believe it will never change.  They will be stunned when the world comes to an end and that they will be held accountable to God for their lives. 

     Jesus said, “You also be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you are not expecting him” (Luke 12:40).  Jesus’ coming is unexpected because the date is unknown.  That’s not to say predictions have not been made.  Someone had predicted Jesus’ return just this past year.  What a shock!  It did not happen!  Here is sound teaching: Whenever someone predicts the date of Jesus’ return, brand that person as a false prophet.  For this is what the Lord says: “No one knows when that day and hour will be, not the angels of heaven, not even the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36).  These predictions only confirm people in their unbelief.  They conclude that Christians are fools and that the final judgment is just a scare tactic concocted by the Church.  For many, Jesus’ return will be a surprise.  For you, the moment will be a surprise, but not the event.  For, we confess it weekly and pray for it daily.  “He will come again to judge the living and the dead” (Apostles’ Creed).  “Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20)! 

     If you knew that Jesus would return tomorrow, what would you do today?  Many people would probably become ultra-religious, hoping to show God in their final 24 hours how good and sincere they are.  Some would say, “I’m going to stay at church until Jesus comes back.  I will pray continually.  I will sing hymns.  I will read the Bible cover-to-cover.”  But God knows the difference between who is trying to put on a good show and who truly trusts his promises.  God will not be fooled by any pious behavior that suggests people truly cared when they never did.

     That’s why the angel told St. John those shocking words in our second lesson: “Let the one who is unjust continue to be unjust.  Let the one who is filthy continue to be filthy” (Revelation 22:11).  It's not that the Lord desires people to continue in their sins; it is that he tells them to be what they are determined to be.  Their judgment will be just.

     But there is no reason for you to fear that day.  Our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world once to rescue you from a damning judgment and to set you apart for a glorious eternity.  He went to the cross to endure the damning judgment for you.  Jesus took your sin and your judgment.  These have been taken away from you.  He also rose from the grave to assure you of a resurrection to eternal life and endless glory.  “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” John 3:17).  The Son has completed that mission.  And he has seen to it that you have been rescued by that mission.  Your eternity is secure.  That is why we long for Jesus’ return.

     Someone once asked Martin Luther, “If you knew that Jesus was going to come tomorrow to judge the living and the dead, what would you do today?”  Luther’s reply was, “I would plant a tree.”  This sounds ridiculous since that tree would only experience 24 hours of growth, and then the world would end.  Why plant a tree?  I suspect that is what Luther was planning on doing that day.  If he was waiting and watching for the Lord’s return, confident of his promises, why would he need to change his plans?  The reality is that any day could be our last day on earth.  If we are waiting and watching for Jesus, if we are faithfully serving him and holding to his word, we have no reason to fear.  He knows those who are his.  Keep waiting.  Keep watching.

     Whether Jesus’ return is tomorrow or centuries away, it should not change anything about what you are doing in your life.  You don’t need to act ultra-religious to convince God of anything.  “Let the one who is just continue to do what is just.  Let the one who is holy continue to be holy” (Revelation 22:11).  Let the Lord’s faithful servants continue to serve faithfully.  You already belong to Christ.  Keep waiting.  Keep watching.  And know what that means.

     Jesus said, “Be dressed, ready for service, and keep your lamps burning.  Be like people waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him” (Luke 12:35-36).  Now, maybe that sounds like we are back to perpetually sitting in church, saying prayers, and reading our Bibles cover-to-cover without eating, sleeping, or going to work or school.  But that is not how servants get ready for their master to return.

     The master who goes off to a wedding banquet gives his servants instructions about duties to be carried out while he is gone.  The servants would not continually stand by the door with their hands on the handle, just waiting to swing the door open.  They would have tasks to do.  Some would labor in the fields.  Some would tend the flocks and herds.  Others would prepare meals, clean the home, or re-shingle the roof.  This is why the reason the master had servants.  They care for the master’s goods. 

     But what if the servants decide that the master’s absence means that they can play hooky and abuse the master’s home and goods?  They figure that the master is away, so they can gorge themselves on his food and get drunk on his wine.  They can toss their garbage anywhere in the house and kick up their dirty feet on his furniture.  Then the master comes home at an hour they did not expect, perhaps even in the second or third watch, that is, in the middle of the night.  What would the master do to servants who were negligent, destructive, and disobedient?  The master’s wrath would be justifiable.  After all, they knew he would return!  The servants would expect to be banished.  In a harsher culture, they might even be executed.

     This is why Jesus encourages you to continue to be faithful in your calling.  “Be dressed, ready for service, and keep your lamps burning” (Luke 12:35).  Keep waiting.  Keep watching.  Do the work the Lord has placed in front of you.  Take care of your family.  Show up for work on time and be diligent at your work.  Be honest with your fellow man.  Be generous to those in need.  Be patient.  Be kind.  Be chaste and decent in thoughts and words.  Flee from evil.  You do not have to invent works to honor God.  He places them right in front of you every day as you live with your family and deal with friends, neighbors, and strangers.  As the Lord’s servants, this is the work he gives you to do.  And this will keep you plenty busy as you wait for the Lord’s return.  Keep waiting.  Keep watching.

     Jesus also issues a warning so that you do not become lazy in waiting and watching.  He said, “Know this: If the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into” (Luke 12:39).  The thief to be concerned about is the devil.  He cannot steal your faith or pull you out of the kingdom of God.  But like a con artist, he seduces you into giving up what the Lord has given to you.  The most common way this happens is when Christians are coaxed into being negligent in hearing God’s word and in partaking of the sacrament.  Christians who fall away from the faith usually do not flip on a moment’s notice from faith to unbelief.  The devil convinces you that you don’t need to hear God’s word.  He may lead you to believe that just knowing facts about the Bible is sufficient.  The devil knows the facts, too, but he remains damned. 

     Keep waiting.  Keep watching.  Know that the devil is seeking to rob you of your salvation.  He who keeps you safe is the one who saved you.  It is through his word and sacraments that Jesus strengthens and keeps you in true faith unto life everlasting.  It is through his word and sacraments that Jesus gives his Spirit to work in you to will and to act according to God’s will.  In this way, Jesus will find his servants ready for his return, even when it comes at an hour that you do not expect.

     And then!  What a promise Jesus makes!  “Blessed are those servants, whom the master will find watching when he comes.  Amen I tell you: He will dress himself and have them recline at the table, and he will come and serve them.  …They will be blessed if he finds them alert” (Luke 12:37-38).  When the Lord Jesus comes again, he will come with great blessings for his servants.  The master will come and serve you!  He will bring you to an everlasting Sabbath rest.  The Son of Man will have you take your place at the wedding supper of the Lamb.  You will dwell in endless peace.  You will enjoy the glory and the beauty of the heavenly kingdom. 

     The Lord already gives you a foretaste of this now.  You have come into God’s presence here in this Divine Service.  You are taking a rest from your daily labors, and here the Lord serves you.  Here you get to recline at the Lord’s altar, and the Lord serves you with the feast of heaven.  Here, the Lord sustains you so that you are not robbed of the salvation he has won for you.  Here, the servants are given the strength to continue serving, to continue waiting, and to continue watching.

     Every week we confess it: “He will come again to judge the living and the dead” (Apostles’ Creed).  Every day, we pray for it: “Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20)!  We long for our Lord to return.  We keep on waiting patiently.  We keep on watching carefully.  We keep on serving faithfully.  For we love our master, and he loves us. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.