Sermon for Seventh Sunday of Easter

Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 16, 2010
Rev. 22:1-20
Come and see

In the name of Jesus, amen. Our Epistle lesson from Revelation will be our sermon text this morning, one that teaches us to anticipate and expect what we are asking for.

More often than we care to admit, we ask for things with no confidence that we’ll get what we have asked for. We’ve been let down and disappointed too many times that the hope has been drained from our life. Parents have broken promises to us. Friends have broken promises, so when it comes time to ask for something, we ask with the knowledge that it is just a matter of time before we are let down once again.

Our Revelation lesson asks the great Maranatha of the Church. Maranatha means Come Lord Jesus, the last words of today’s epistle. We are asking for the Lord to come but do we expect it, do we anticipate his coming to us, do we seek it?

The answers to those questions are: sometimes. Sometimes we seek the Lord’s coming. Sometimes we expect the great maranatha of God. Sometimes we anticipate the Lord making his appearing among us. And sometimes we don’t.

The Lord has promised so many good things to His people. He has promised love and forgiveness and mercy and grace and compassion and God fulfilled all those promises in the great festivals of Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost. God keeps his promises in the water of Holy Baptism and in the great love feast of Holy Communion.

While God keeps his promises, it is still hard to wait as hear our Savior Jesus tell us, “I am coming soon.” It’s hard waiting for the Lord.

Waiting is never an easy thing to do. Apparently silly bands are all the rage amongst kindergartners these days. They are rubber bands formed into the shape of dinosaurs, animals, various kinds of balls, and other things that appeal to five year olds. We ordered some for the boys because you can’t find them in stores, or at least we didn’t want to drive around to every WalMart, Kmart, or any other kind of mart hunting for them. We told the boys that we had ordered them, and that was our mistake. Have they come yet? Are they here? When will they get here? Have they come yet? The mailman delivered my diabetic supplies and Matthew got all excited when he saw the big box because surely the box was filled with silly bands. It was both humorous and sad to see how disappointed a two year old can get!

As we age, waiting doesn’t get any easier. If anything, it gets harder as anxiety, worry, and fear come with the interminable waiting. Waiting for the wedding day. Waiting for the delivery of your child. Waiting for your job interview. Waiting for your wife to come out of the operating room. Waiting for the grandchildren to arrive for the Thanksgiving holiday. Waiting with your husband in the last few days of his life. Waiting for the Lord to come soon so you will be reunited with all of your loved ones who have died in the Christian faith. Jesus says “I am coming” and the wait for us is so hard.

Our Lord Christ is coming to us. As He ascended into heaven we know and believe the words of the angels that Jesus will return in the same way he departed. He was taken into heaven by a cloud, so we wait for the glorious clouds to reveal the return of Jesus our Redeemer. I am coming to you.

Our Lord knows how difficult these days are. Our Lord Jesus was tempted in every way we are yet endured those temptations and remained sinless in our place. Our brother Jesus strengthens us in the face of the temptation of faithlessness, in the temptation of doubt, in the temptation to deny our God, in the temptation to take the easy road and say that all paths lead to God and as long as your nice and don’t kick puppies then surely you’ll be in heaven too. Jesus strengthens us for these days to give voice to our faith, to speak up for those who have no voice- the not yet born, those born with disabilities who are pushed to the side in the hopes that they will be forgotten, and those born who are drawing near to the end of their life, well, they need someone to speak on their behalf, that the elderly have value to the Lord and deserve care, decency, the opportunity to live out their days with all the same rights that younger people have.

In these difficult days, the Lord says to us that He is coming. And he says, “Come and see.” Along with many other people, we might respond, “Where are you so I can see you?”

The Lord is found where He has promised to be- in the Word, on the altar in the precious gift of Holy Communion, in the gift of prayer. Come to the church and see how God is present with his gifts. Perhaps you come to service and on your way out the door say to yourself, “I’m glad I had the opportunity to confess my sins and receive God’s forgiveness. Tomorrow I will talk with my coworker and ask for their forgiveness for what I did to them.” “I’m glad I got to hear the Scriptures today because that was my father’s favorite passage and he would always talk about why it was his favorite.” “I’m glad I had the chance to speak the Creed today, because I get challenged in school all the time about my faith and the Creed is a simple way to express my belief.” “I needed communion today and I’m glad to receive the strength and nourishment for my soul. It’s good to know God loves me that much.”

We are invited to come and see the goodness of God. The promise of God is solidified for us as we hold open our hands to receive all of God’s good gifts. Strengthened for our everyday lives, we go out with the message to ‘come and see’. With a compassionate ear we listen to our children, to our spouse, to our friend and offer them what we have been given. With a merciful hand we seek to give away what has been given to us, some nourishing food, some help in cleaning up after a disaster. With a forgiving heart we do not hold grudges against the people who have sought our forgiveness. We give up the grudge and grasp the new opportunity to be God’s people in His world.

Our Lord Jesus is coming to us. He has promised to come. And we implore him to maranatha among us- Amen, come Lord Jesus! Come and see your people. And we invite those around us to come and see the grace and glory of God. SDG