Trinity Last
Beloved. Today we come to the end of the present Church Year. In it we have followed our Lord’s life—beginning with His conception and birth, continuing on through His earthly ministry, culminating with His suffering, death, resurrection, ascension and sending of the Holy Spirit; and in it we have heard our Lord’s teaching, His holy word and doctrine which is truth and endures forever. It is this word and teaching that He has entrusted His Church to proclaim faithfully generation after generation. And the doctrine of our Lord that we have been hearing in the readings the past couple weeks is about the Last Day and the Judgment. Last week we heard of the fact/ certainty of His return again in glory. In fact, we tell you this by the word of the Lord: We who are alive and left until the coming of the Lord will certainly not go on ahead of those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. And we again heard that in today’s epistle: Concerning the times and dates, brothers, there is no need to write to you, for you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Last week we heard of the fact of the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting; and today we are introduced to the thought that Jesus’ return in glory on the Last Day will come suddenly and unexpectedly—like a thief in the night. And that means what? We are always to be prepared and looking for, expecting His sudden, unannounced return. That’s why Jesus told the parable that He did in today’s Gospel, of the wise and foolish virgins. The point is that there were those who thought that they were ready and prepared for Jesus’/ the Bridegroom’s coming but were not. The lesson for us is clear: let us live our lives in constant readiness for Jesus’ return; let us live our lives so that we are always found in the faith in Jesus, trusting in Him for the forgiveness of sin and as our Savior from sin, death, devil and hell. Let Jesus’ words explaining the parable always ring in our ears: keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. As we do so, that gives form and focus to our lives as to what is really vital. Anything that promotes and furthers our readiness for Jesus’ return is truly vital. All the things that the world around us tries to make us think is so important—at the end of the day—really isn’t; it pales in comparison. Really, all the busyness and distractions that come our way each day are just that: busyness and distractions. Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
The parable also introduces another thought, one that tells us why it is vital that we be diligent and keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. And that thought is the Judgment. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. Later, the other virgins also came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, let us in.’ But he answered, ‘Amen I tell you: I do not know you.’” Even those that thought they were “safe”/ thought they were Christians but didn’t pay attention to their faith and let their faith die out, in the end were shut out of heaven. What a note of finality: and the door was shut. But, dear Christian, now is a time of grace. Make the most of it! The door to heaven is not yet shut. Use this time to do the one thing vital—make faithful and diligent use of our Lord’s holy word and sacrament for through these the Lord works to strengthen and keep you in the faith lest you fall away; through these He will train your eyes to look heavenward in eager longing and anticipation for His return. We don’t know what will be first—the moment of death like for all those who died before us or the moment of Jesus’ return. In either case it will be the time of Judgment for us. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. Later, the other virgins also came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, let us in.’ But he answered, ‘Amen I tell you: I do not know you.’ Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
But what about now? What is happening now? What is God doing now? That’s what we read in today’s text from Isaiah, where he quotes our Lord: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.”
Creating—that’s what God is doing now! He is making everything new. He begins now in His Church and it is brought to completion on the Last Day. Notice what our Lord says: I create new heavens and a new earth. Notice the verb—it’s present tense; it’s going on right now: I create new heavens and a new earth. And then look at the word the Lord uses: create. That’s the same word He uses for the original creation: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Notice, that’s past. That happened ages ago in 6 days. But now God is creating, He is in the midst of creating new heavens and a new earth. The same power and might of God that created the first/ old/ what we see as the creation is what God is using now as He is creating new heavens and a new earth.
How is this power displayed? In lowliness—first, by Jesus’ suffering and death. When Jesus came the first time, He came in all lowliness and humility to suffer and die for the sins of the world; but the blessings He brought as a result—forgiveness of sin, life, salvation, peace with God, etc.—are so great that they can only be described as a creation of new heavens and a new earth. And now He still works His power in means of great lowliness—the word and sacrament. When, by the work of the Holy Spirit, in the word and sacrament, He creates in us a new heart, brings us from spiritual death to spiritual life, brings us from unbelief to faith, in short when He converts us, that is a whole new world, a new heavens and a new earth, that has come to us and of which we are a part.
This creating of God is going on now, even in and among us, and will be going on until the Last Day. So what is this new work of creation, this new heavens and a new earth? It is His New Testament Church—of which each of us, dear Christian, is a part. Or, to put it differently: we, dear Christian are a new creation. God making all things new, is happening in our midst and has happened in us. St. Paul puts it this way [2 Cor. 5.17]: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come. God has redeemed and restored us/ re-created us so that we love Him and want to do His will. This is God’s almighty work in us and on us, just as much as the original creation was His work. He has forgiven us our sins; He has brought us into His holy family; He has bestowed glory, honor and dignity to us. Individually each Christian is God’s new creation in Jesus; together the Church is His new creation.
That’s brought out in the next verse where the Lord, as He so often does in the OT, calls the Church “Jerusalem.” But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. Notice, this is not the earthly city of Jerusalem that God is talking about in our text. The earthly city of Jerusalem was/ is built by human hands; but what does He say here? I [God Himself] create Jerusalem. The Church is built by the Lord. It is He who creates His Church as by His Holy Spirit, He comes to us in the word and sacrament and works faith in Jesus and His word and work in our hearts. He creates His Church, each Christian personally, in the waters of holy baptism—just like at the original creation the Holy Spirit was hovering over the face of the waters. The point of all this? –Simply this: we, dear Christian, are a new creation. God has begun and is now making all things new—including us, His dear Christians! So this new creation that the Lord speaks about in our text, For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, is already happening. The new creation has already begun to appear through the preaching of the Gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit. However, it will not be finished until the day of Jesus’ return.
Dear Christian, how can we not be a new creation? –We are united to Jesus through faith, united to Him in His death and resurrection in the waters of holy baptism, united with Him as we eat His body and drink His blood in the Blessed Sacrament. We are in Him and He is in us. Together, we, the Church, are the new Jerusalem, created by God. In this life, we are members of the Church on earth and in the life to come we will be citizens of the Church in heaven, the heavenly Jerusalem.
What great joy we have now. And the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create. Dear Christian, all the horribleness of our sin and their consequence, are forgiven us. We need not dredge up all our past sins. They are forgiven in Jesus. That’s the basis/ foundation of our joy. Yes, we daily examine heart and mind and see our sin; but we confess them, that is, we go to our Lord in sorrow, ask His forgiveness for them and in faith receive His forgiveness as we hear the absolution: I forgive you all your sins... And as we then think about all the mercies of God and love He has shown us, and what eternal glories and bliss await us in heaven, all our present sufferings and hardships are as nothing, painful as they may be, in comparison. In this life we recognize God as our gracious heavenly Father who is working all things for our spiritual and eternal good; and in great joy we look ahead to heaven where we will see Him face to face for all eternity. To behold God, that is what will fulfill our every and deepest need and longing; that’s how God “designed” us—to seek that closest intimate communion with Him. Sin hindered that/ set up that barrier; but now in Jesus that intimate communion with God is restored now— new heavens and a new earth—and we will enjoy it in full force come eternity. Seeing God in all His glory and majesty, being in His presence safe and secure, beholding Him in His perfection and holiness fulfills our every need and desire. So when the Lord commands us in our text: be glad and rejoice forever that is a promise and assurance to us. In Jesus our salvation is already prepared; it must merely be revealed, then we will see with our physical eyes and receive what we now can only see and imagine with the eyes of faith.
For behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. We have great joy in the Lord. The devil and his allies will try to take it away from us. And by our sufferings, we will very often feel anything but joy in this life. But as we by faith believe the Lord’s word and promise, that we are a new creation, that we are part of a new heaven and earth, yes, we will still suffer—and perhaps even greatly so —but we are promised and receive now comfort and a foretaste of the joy is ours. Then with our Lord in heaven, our sorrows will be perfectly stilled as He promises in our text: no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.
Our great comfort in all our sorrows is that not only in heaven but also now the Lord delights and has joy in us, His dear Christians: I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people. In Christ, because we are a new creation in Him, God delights in us. He will bless and preserve us and bring us safely to Him in heaven.
Behold, I make all things new! What a glorious motivation for us to remain faithful, awake and alert. What God has begun now with and in us, He will bring to completion on the Last Day. INJ Amen