LutheranLectionary.org

Reflections on Scripture with Dr. Leins

Time Stamp	Transcript
0:17	hello today let’s talk about God’s new
0:23	Springtime the text before us is Mark
0:27	13: 24 through3 37 this is the return of
0:32	Jesus
0:34	Christ
0:36	introduction There Are Places on this
0:39	Earth that are extremely cold some of
0:43	them are cities right here in the United
0:45	States for example Fairbanks Alaska has
0:49	a winter that begins in October and
0:52	continues through March 6 months over
0:56	180 days of Relentless freezing bone
1:00	chilling winter the minimum average
1:05	temperature is
1:07	-17 and the low temperature is
1:10	66° below
1:13	zero North Dakota and Minnesota
1:16	experience cold that is almost as severe
1:19	Grand Forks North Dakota has no mountain
1:22	range to break the wind and no body of
1:25	water to bring in the warmth so expect
1:28	Winters with lows of
1:31	-43 and January temperatures that rarely
1:35	rise above
1:37	0° duth Minnesota is situated right next
1:40	to Lake Superior the lake effect snow
1:44	makes it one of the snowiest cities in
1:46	the country with an annual accumulation
1:49	of 86 in of snow and 106 days of the
1:53	year below
1:55	freezing in these places prolonged
1:57	Winters with ripping winds mountains of
2:00	snow and treacherous ice make the coming
2:03	of Springtime a source of absolute Joy
2:06	even the ardant winter
2:09	lover see spring bringing a song to the
2:12	heart and warmth to the soul the birds
2:15	sing the plants bud and Blossom and
2:18	sunny skies mean that bunnies hop and
2:21	children dance spring is a warm and
2:24	wonderful New Beginning now that is
2:28	exactly what our Lord Lord Jesus is
2:30	talking about in this gospel from Mark
2:34	13 it is the return of Jesus the
2:38	long-awaited second coming of the Son of
2:40	God and this time he will come not in
2:44	humiliation but in exaltation and he
2:47	will bring a Heavenly
2:49	Springtime after centuries of Bleak
2:52	winter and the freezing cold of darkness
2:56	and death of course Jesus is is not
3:00	speaking in terms of Earthly weather but
3:03	of spiritual spring the second coming of
3:06	Jesus will be a wonderful and eternal
3:09	season of warmth and joy for all who
3:13	believe Jesus himself will be our
3:16	sunrise and His glory will shine upon
3:19	all who
3:21	believe point
3:23	one the signs of spring there will be
3:27	some pretty significant signs for the
3:30	second coming of the Lord Jesus explains
3:33	that the Stars will be falling from
3:36	Heaven the physical universe will be
3:39	disjointed the sun and moon will move
3:42	out of orbit and there will be Darkness
3:44	everywhere then suddenly and wonderfully
3:48	Jesus will be seen riding his Sky
3:50	chariots the Clouds Of Heaven Earth and
3:54	Heaven will be passing away the
3:58	disorientation of this out ofjoint world
4:01	will enable every eye everywhere to see
4:05	Jesus when he appears in his Heavenly
4:08	power in the midst of cosmic Darkness a
4:12	glowing and glorious Jesus will
4:16	come at this point Jesus uses the spring
4:20	imagery of a fig tree when the branch of
4:23	the Fig becomes tender and puts forth
4:26	its leaves summer is near in spiritual
4:30	terms this sign means that a new
4:32	Heavenly age is about to Dawn what a joy
4:36	what excitement will fill our hearts it
4:39	will be better than sunshine in Alaska
4:42	when you see these things
4:44	happening Rejoice for God’s Heavenly
4:46	Springtime is about to arrive Jesus is
4:50	near when will this happen our Lord
4:54	gives no specific date but Jesus does
4:56	declare in Mark
4:58	0.5625
5:00	truly I say to you this generation will
5:03	not pass away until all these things
5:06	take
5:08	place that does not mean that his coming
5:11	will occur within a generation that is
5:14	within 30 years of his crucifixion and
5:17	Resurrection obviously not this is a
5:20	figure of speech we’ve heard it before
5:23	in the Old
5:25	Testament this
5:27	generation it refers to
5:30	a stiff necked and sinful generation of
5:34	humanity they see the work of God and
5:36	they call it evil they see the work of
5:39	Jesus and they call it
5:41	foolish obviously this generation of
5:44	humanity is still with
5:46	us but for those of us who believe the
5:50	appearance of these signs will have a
5:52	very positive effect God’s Eternal
5:56	Springtime is upon us
6:00	point two beond the
6:03	alert did you notice that three times in
6:05	the final five verses of this Gospel
6:08	reading Jesus exhorts us to be ready be
6:12	on the alert says the Lord but what does
6:15	that mean exactly what are you supposed
6:18	to do in order to prepare for the second
6:21	coming of
6:22	Jesus
6:24	well I suggest at least three things
6:28	first clean up your
6:31	house when friends are coming to visit
6:34	you want to make things ready for them
6:35	so you clean up your house you wash the
6:38	sheets and blankets for their bedroom
6:41	you vacuum the floor and you dust the
6:43	shelves for them why because you want to
6:46	show them that they are important to you
6:49	their relationship is precious they are
6:52	precious so you want everything to be
6:55	just right and ready for them to arrive
6:58	and you you want them to be
7:01	honored but what if they’re coming from
7:05	a long distance and suppose you’re just
7:07	not sure when they’re going to get there
7:10	they may come in the morning or they may
7:13	take all the way until the afternoon or
7:15	perhaps they may arrive late into the
7:17	night what then well you have prepared
7:21	for that too you have cleaned the house
7:24	in the morning but you don’t let it get
7:26	all messy in the afternoon or in the
7:28	evening you keep keep it clean and ready
7:30	for their arrival no matter when they
7:32	arrive now you and I do not know the
7:37	hour of the coming of our Lord Jesus
7:40	Christ so we must clean our spiritual
7:43	house and we must keep it clean we want
7:47	to do this in order to be ready to
7:50	receive him and welcome him because he’s
7:53	precious to us and because we want to
7:56	honor him and also because he is the
8:00	Lord Of Glory the Holy One Of Heaven and
8:04	we do not want our spiritual house to be
8:06	filled with sin and evil when Jesus
8:10	comes we know that if Jesus were coming
8:12	this afternoon we would clean our filthy
8:15	thoughts and our nasty words and our
8:18	sinful Deeds oh yes we would get as
8:21	clean as possible surely we would repent
8:24	right away and be as clean as we could
8:26	be if Jesus were on the way
8:30	today but of course Jesus is on the way
8:35	today that’s the whole point of this
8:39	teaching that our Lord has given to us
8:41	in Mark 13 so what shall we do to get
8:45	ready for his coming first clean up your
8:50	house
8:51	second I suggest that you prepare a
8:55	gift now from the outset I want to
8:58	clarify ify that Jesus needs no gift and
9:02	it is he who is the Gift Giver yes Jesus
9:06	himself is the most precious gift of all
9:09	there is nothing that we can or should
9:12	do in order to get the kingdom or to buy
9:16	salvation or to Merit it with our good
9:21	works the kingdom of God and salvation
9:24	are gifts given to us by Jesus he has
9:27	done all the work he alone has given
9:29	these gifts we are purely passive
9:33	recipients we receive his gifts of
9:35	forgiveness and salvation by grace
9:38	through faith and not through any works
9:41	of our
9:43	own however having said that when
9:46	someone we love is coming to visit it’s
9:48	natural to want to give them a gift
9:52	think about think about Christmas for a
9:55	moment it’s an exciting time friends and
9:58	family get get together and we want to
10:00	give gifts to those we love of course we
10:03	do the presents are
10:06	exciting especially for the
10:08	children so
10:10	imagine a naughty
10:12	child she or he may want to investigate
10:16	those presents under the tree she or he
10:18	may want to wait until no one is looking
10:21	and carefully peel back the Scotch tape
10:24	and look inside to see what present
10:26	awaits him or her what stops that
10:29	curious child probably it is the thought
10:32	that mom may come down the stairs at any
10:34	moment or that Dad may catch them in the
10:37	act so they stop themselves they know
10:41	that they should not steal a peak for
10:44	love of parents and for fear of
10:46	punishment they do not but is that what
10:51	Christmas is all about no it’s not about
10:54	stopping oneself from stealing a peak no
10:57	it’s about giving and receiving
10:59	heartfelt gifts that is to say it’s not
11:04	enough not to do the evil because Jesus
11:06	is coming it’s also right to do the good
11:10	so for the Christian waiting for the
11:13	second Christmas the second coming of
11:17	Jesus it is not enough to stop doing
11:20	what’s bad we must also try to Delight
11:24	our Lord by doing what is good so we
11:29	want to offer him gifts that would make
11:32	his heart glad not to get into heaven
11:35	but because Jesus has already given
11:36	Heaven To Us by grace through faith so
11:40	what gifts can you offer Jesus when he
11:44	comes
11:45	well you could love others and care for
11:49	others for a start that would Delight
11:51	his heart and you could care for the
11:54	sick and the needy you could s serve the
11:56	poor and the hungry you could truly
12:00	forgive and be reconciled with those who
12:02	have wronged you yes these things would
12:06	Delight the Heart of Jesus you could
12:09	share the gospel of his life-giving
12:12	cross with those who do not know him
12:14	that would truly Delight the Heart of
12:16	Jesus very
12:17	much these are the
12:20	gifts that you could give to Jesus and
12:24	in doing so you would be on the alert
12:27	you would be getting ready for the
12:29	second coming of
12:31	Jesus and third I suggest that you
12:35	simply enjoy what you already have the
12:39	second coming of Jesus Christ is the
12:41	beginning of the Eternal
12:43	Springtime his arrival will alter Heaven
12:48	and Earth it will put to right all
12:51	sorrow suffering and sadness it will
12:55	turn our sinick freezing winter world
12:58	world into a warm and wonderful
13:01	spiritual spring but you already have
13:05	received a foretaste of this eternal
13:06	Feast you already have been born again
13:09	in Christ Jesus and you already have him
13:12	alive and living in your own heart you
13:14	are a temple of God and the Holy Spirit
13:17	dwells within you Jesus Lives within you
13:21	right here and right now you remember
13:25	when Martin Luther was asked what he
13:27	would do today if Jesus were returning
13:30	tomorrow so The Story Goes Luther
13:33	responded that
13:36	today he would work in his garden or he
13:39	would plant a
13:40	tree what is the point it is that Luther
13:45	was already ready to meet the Lord he
13:49	was already on the alert his spiritual
13:51	house was swept and clean as much as is
13:54	humanly possible he had offered his
13:56	gifts of loving others serving the
13:59	church and sharing Christ so what was
14:03	left he would continue doing what he had
14:06	been doing and if Jesus came today or
14:10	tomorrow Luther would enjoy the gifts
14:12	that Christ had already given to him
14:15	right
14:16	now and every
14:18	day everything needful you to be ready
14:21	everything needful for you to be ready
14:24	for Jesus has already been done for you
14:27	by Christ you can clean your spiritual
14:30	house yes you can do that which Delights
14:33	Christ’s heart yes but remember the real
14:37	work of preparing for the second coming
14:39	of Christ Jesus already has done it for
14:43	you when he forgave you all of your sins
14:47	and we when he made you his own holy and
14:49	Heavenly Child by grace through faith he
14:52	made you ready for his second coming
14:56	conclusion there are some places in this
14:59	country that are extremely cold but the
15:02	truth is that every place on Earth and
15:06	every person living on it has been
15:08	bitten by the freezing cold and darkened
15:12	death of spiritual winter Jesus the
15:17	sunshine of our hearts has already come
15:20	once he came in humiliation and meekness
15:23	he came as a servant and as a savior his
15:27	second coming will be when we do not
15:30	expect it but you do not need to be
15:33	afraid it will be like the breaking of
15:35	sunrise on a spring morning his glory
15:39	will fill the sky his warmth will fill
15:41	the heart of every believer to tell you
15:44	to be on the alert really is an
15:47	understatement get ready to receive the
15:51	best Christmas present that ever is
15:54	given be on the alert for the most
15:57	wonderful and marvelous spring day
16:00	that will never
16:02	end beloved Jesus is coming
16:07	again can’t
16:10	wait
16:18	[Music]
16:27	amen