The Lord has made known his salvation!

The Lord has made known his salvation!

Grace, Peace, and Mercy to all of you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

When I worked in IT and Software Development, I frequently traveled the world, working with various customers and suppliers. To some people, the ability to travel for work sounds like a lot of fun, as it might evoke a hint of adventure.

While to others, particularly those who have been on the road for work for long periods of time, it conjures up images of what they know to be true: endless airport lines, subpar hotel food, and a relentless schedule with little sleep, while at the same time missing family.

The small upside to traveling for work is when you get that rare occasion when all the work has gotten done a bit early and you have a window of time to actually see the sites of the place you are in.

Having traveled extensively for many years, I was able to take in a few places in Europe and Asia where the size and scale of ancient architecture truly amazed me, and in some cases, it took my breath away.

On one occasion, I happened to be on a business trip in Istanbul, Turkey, for about a week. I had a few places on my travel bucket list that I really wanted to visit, and this was definitely one of them, for reasons that included seeing some of the historical sights, trying the local food, and its unique geography – connecting the continents of Europe and Asia.

While there, I was able to break away from the meetings and work and take a walk and look around. One of the places I wandered to was the Hippodrome, an old Roman circus where chariot races were held.

At its center stands an ancient Egyptian obelisk, which the Romans had transported to this location at the height of their empire. I stood there, thinking about how, at one point, the place where I was standing had been full of loud cheers and Roman spectators.

It isn't that way anymore, though. Long gone are the days of circus sports and the shouts of ancient spectators. Now it is a place where pigeons gather along with the tourists from all over the world.

Eventually, the things of this world begin to crumble slowly due to the weathering of time, or other factors such as wars, and empires falling to another. To the people of its time, it was the place to be, to socialize, to watch sports. Today, it serves as a marker on a tourist map and resembles more of a modest park in an ancient city.

That is how it is with the perishable things of this world. They will not stay the same, nor will they stand the test of time; they simply will not last. Nothing built by the hands of man will last forever.

Now I want you to imagine, if you can, the city of Jerusalem. When Jesus shared this morning’s gospel lesson with his disciples, the town would have been filled with pilgrims. Aligning the parallel accounts of today’s lesson in Mark and Matthew’s gospels it reveals that Jesus most likely spoke these words near the beginning of Holy Week.

Pilgrims from all over the known ancient world would have come to Jerusalem to take part in or to celebrate the Passover. The city's average population of about 125,000 would have swollen to almost 1 million. The dwellings and spaces would have been so cramped that most pilgrims to the Temple would spend their nights camped out on the hills surrounding Jerusalem. It would have been packed, noisy, and full of excitement and full of life.

Furthermore, there would have been lots of construction going on. During the time of Jesus’ life and even before, ongoing construction was taking place in and around the Temple. The Herod family had initiated projects to remodel the Temple area and many other areas in Judea, which had been ongoing for more than forty years. And according to historians like Josephus, they planned to continue construction for many years to come.

With all the construction happening, it would not be hard to imagine the disciples discussing the things they saw that were new as opposed to how it may have appeared the year or two before.

We do things like that ourselves. I remember the last time my family and I visited Washington, we noticed what things were gone and what had changed, even though we hadn't been away that long. We tend to notice these things.

While the disciples were taking notice of all the little details, Jesus’ words, no doubt, shocked and disturbed them as I suspect they do us all, when he said, 'The days will come when not one stone will be left upon another.'

Jesus takes their attention and eyes away from the present reality and points them to a future time, a time they cannot see, and assures them that what they are seeing now will one day pass away.

One day, all this will be gone. One day, all this will be turned over. And you need to be ready and alert!

The disciples ask Jesus: “When will these things be and what will be the sign that these things are about to take place?”

They want specifics. When is this going to happen? What are the things we ought to be looking for? They wanted answers to their questions, and Jesus tells us what to look for–he gives us obvious signs that we will not be able to miss. Kingdoms rising and falling, wars, famines, plagues, persecutions, and people being led astray.

Well, you don’t have to go too far in this day and age to see that these things are happening all around us right now. We need only pick up a newspaper, turn on the television or radio, or however you consume news and information to know that these things are going on around us now.

The great and awesome day of the Lord draws ever near. These signs that Jesus is talking about are ever-present in this world. Every day, there are famines. Every day, Christians are persecuted for their faith. Every day, there are wars and rumors of wars. Every day, there are earthquakes. Every day, these things take place in this world, amid great confusion, and amid people who seek to lead others astray.

However, these signs are nothing new! Indeed, the disciples were living in such times as well, and every generation after them. They were living under the heavy arm of the Romans, who would bring the temple down in 70 AD, not many years after Jesus spoke these words. For centuries, armies have always surrounded Jerusalem.

Since the time we snatched the fruit from the tree, we have lived in times of fear and foreboding, confusion, and in distress, because we live in a world broken by sin. Until Jesus returns, hunger and sickness will run through the earth, and wars will continue as kingdoms seek to topple one another, seeking after their own glory.

But Jesus seeks to show us another kingdom, one of truth, righteousness, peace, and eternal life. Jesus seeks to point our eyes, minds, and our hearts to this everlasting kingdom, that where He is we may also be. That no matter the day nor the hour nor the season, we have the eternal promise and knowledge of his salvation.

The psalmist said, “The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.” (Psalm 98:2) Indeed! Jesus has made known his salvation and mercy to you. It happened in the moment of your baptisms and in your faith, through his word. It happens every time you hear the words “this is my body and this is my blood, given and shed for you,” when you come to his table. It happened at the moment he took your sins to the cross with himself, nailing them there forever.

He has made you an heir to a kingdom not of this world. And where judgment is coming to this world, you who have faith in his name for salvation ought not fear because “He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.” (Psalm 98:9)

You are a child of the Most High God. Made free to live out the lives he has called you to, working out your faith each day in all that he has given you. Through your vocations as mothers and fathers, and in your occupations, and in those things in which you volunteer your time, that you might glorify God as we walk through this life, that we might serve one another, secure in the truth in a world steeped in confusion.

We glorify him when we call on him in prayer, to ask his help to remain steadfast when the worries and the cares of this world seek to overrun us, as Paul reminds us, “The Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” (2 Thess 3:3). Enduring difficult things and difficult times is not something we can do with our own strength. We will have moments when we are led to despair, when things seem darkest and hope seems far off.

But we must take refuge in the words of Jesus during these times when he says, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:28)

Because our hope and promise is that children of the living God need not be crushed by the fear of the day of judgement because God has already made his judgement on you in your faith and baptism. He has called you to himself and made you his, forever. We need not live in fear of what is to come, because what is coming is the day of the Lord–The day of salvation.

Whatever comes our way, whatever signs are unleashed upon the earth, whatever darkness we see around us, children of God have no need to bow our heads and cower.

Raise up your heads, your redemption is drawing near, Christ is nearer to you now than when you first believed! His kingdom is coming. He is coming for you. To give you your place in that kingdom.

The signs all around us are not just signs of our destruction, or the end of all things, and condemnation. They are the signs of the dawning of the new day– a day of salvation and of redemption and of the coming of the imperishable. They are the signs of Christ's new kingdom and his victory over sin and death. Now may the Lord direct our hearts always to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ now and forever - Amen

Our Gospel hymn is Abide with me #62