Sermon

Mark 13:24-37

The Day of Wrath

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Mark 13:24-37

The Day of Wrath

The Rev. Dr. James D. Kegel

GRACE TO YOU AND PEACE FROM GOD OUR FATHER AND THE LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, AMEN.

One of the most moving experiences I have ever had was visiting the Hotel Dieu, the Hospice of God, in Beaune, France. On an entire wall was a picture of the Last Judgment painted by Rogier van der Weyden, the Flemish painter, for this hospital which was founded in 1443.

The hospital itself was fascinating—the beds in the large hospital ward were positioned so that the patients could see the painting from their sickbeds. In the center was Christ with the Archangel Michael. This was not the friendly, kind, nice Jesus we are used to seeing in pictures but Christ the judge. Michael holds scales to weigh the sins of those seen rising from their graves. The righteous are joyfully entering into God’s kingdom; the damned go to everlasting torment. The intention of the painting is clear: those who were sick and dying were warned that they should prepare for judgment.

A few weeks ago, our choir sang Mozart’s Requiem. A Dies Irae is always part of a requiem mass, that song whose title translates, “Day of Wrath.” After that sermon, one man confronted me as I was shaking hands at the door and said that I should preach the wrath of God. He said the church—and he meant Central Lutheran Church, I am afraid, had grown complacent. I must say I was taken aback a bit. But we don’t preach much on the subject of God’s wrath anymore. We confess in the Creeds that Christ will come again “to judge the quick and the dead.” We teach that Christ will judge the living and the dead but not so much. Yet as the saying goes, “though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceedingly small.” No one will escape the wrath to come.

It has been said that all the great religions of the world have a sense of judgment beyond this world. Christianity and Judaism teach a doctrine of a Son of Man who will come in the clouds to judge. Our Gospel text for this first Sunday in Advent is clearly patterned after Daniel seven where the prophet sees “in the night visions, I saw one like a human being, a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One, the Ancient of Days, and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away and his kingship is one.” Christians believe this Son of Man, the human one, is none other than Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified, died and was buried then rose again and ascended to glory. This Jesus will come again to judge and to save.

It is not only the biblical religions which have a judgment day. Muslims believe that when one dies the angel of death comes with God’s judgment to bring one either to paradise or hellfire. Hindus and Buddhists and the religions of China are less afraid of death than eternal rebirth. Whether one is reborn as a moth or a man, prince or peony, is determined by one’s actions on earth. Any misdeed can send one downward on the great chain of being just as an act of kindness can send one up. Nirvana or final nothingness is but a dim hope for most of humanity. It is as if God has implanted in every human heart the notion of accountability. This life is not the final arbiter and our actions here have consequences not only for this life but beyond.

Some scholars believe the idea of judgment is at the heart of Jesus’ message. They call him an eschatological prophet or one who preaches and teaches and prepares people for the day of wrath to come. Many see our passage from Mark’s Gospel as the climax to that Gospel story to warn and comfort. God’s judgment is coming, Jesus’ says, so be prepared. Watch for the signs which will be clear to those who see them. They are much like the signs of Daniel—portents in the heavens and on earth, suffering and tribulation. The sun will be darkened and the moon and stars and powers of heaven shaken. The Son of Man will come on the clouds to gather the elect from every tribe and nation to save them. The judgment will come soon, Jesus says, but even he did not know the day or hour of judgment. What he did know was that the end would come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night, perhaps in the evening, at midnight or cockcrow or dawn. Perhaps those signs in the heavens could only be deciphered after the events, looking back rather than looking around. The people must watch and pray and be ready at all times for that awful day.

There is human wisdom in this text. None of us know when our life will end. Helen Keller, blind, deaf, at first mute, once wrote,

“Use your eyes as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind;
hear the music of voice,
the song of birds,
the mighty strains of an orchestra,
as if you would be struck deaf.
Touch each object you want to touch
as if your sense of touch would fail.
Smell the perfume of flowers,
taste and relish each morsel,
as if tomorrow you would never smell or taste again.”

An elder gentleman was traveling alone on a railway carriage. He looked steadily out the window, drinking in every sight—houses and trees, clouds and children who watched the train go by. “It’s all so beautiful, “he remarked to the stranger beside him. “Look at that wagon load of hay on its way to the barn.” Sensing the other person thought him strange, the man added, “You see my doctor told me that I had only three months to live. Ever since, everything has looked so beautiful, so important to me… I feel as if I had been asleep and had only just woken up.” I know there are people here right now who feel just the same way.

According to a legend, a traveler penetrated an enchanted forest. In a glade, he found a sundial. On the sundial were the words, “Stop traveler. It is later than you think.” We know that, don’t we? We know that our days will come to an end. God is not mocked. As we sow, so shall we reap. There will be a day of judgment. We will appear before our Maker and our Judge. What we have said or done will be called into account—and what we have neglected to do or say.

Yet there is also something very comforting to this message. Who is the judge? It is Jesus who loves us and comforts us and promises never to leave us or forsake us. In Christ, we have the forgiveness of sins and everlasting salvation. We look to life’s end and consider what has been called the “Great Exchange.” We exchange our sinfulness for Christ’s sinlessness. Our evil deeds are recorded in God’s great judging book, but they are canceled by Jesus’ blood shed on the cross. We are not saved by our own goodness but Christ’s. We are reckoned righteous because of Christ’s righteousness not our own holiness. There is nothing we have done or not done, said or not said, thought or not thought that can separate us from God’s love in Jesus Christ. Our regrets and remorse are not too great to be forgiven by Christ. We look forward to judgment day with the same excitement and longing that children are now looking forward to Christmas. They are counting the days until they can open the gifts under the Christmas tree and we are looking forward to the day when Christ will come to save.

What God’s Kingdom will be like we do not know. We have Christ’s promise that he has gone before us to prepare a place for us in the Father’s house of many mansions. We know that Christ will be there with us. When a sharp pain struck the heart of Peter Marshall and he was being carried out into the night on a stretcher, he looked up into the face of his wife, Catherine, and said, “See you in the morning, Darling.” He died that night.

It is our faith that no matter how dark the night, the morning will surely come and with it a blessed reunion. The day of wrath will be for us, all who believe in Jesus Christ, a “great, getting’ up morning.” In the meantime, watch and pray. Amen.

Copyright 2006, James D. Kegel. Used by permission.