Sermon from Reformation Sunday preached on 11/1/09. Text: Mark 13:5-11. http://ref.ly/Mk13.5-11
Hold On
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That's the kind of advice you're likely to hear for a lot of different problems common to life today. When children are being especially difficult for their parents, the parents are told, "Hold on; they're just going through a stage." When someone is sick or depressed, well-intentioned people often tell them, "Hold on. It will get better. Everything will turn out alright."
Even when things are dangerous we just want to hold on to something. Tornadoes are fairly rare around here, but back in the Midwest they were quite common. And when they came, the advice for safety was simple: go to the basement, find a room without any windows, crouch down on the ground, and hold on. The idea with all this advice is that if you're just patient, if you know just where to go and what to do, eventually the trouble will pass you by.
But will it? Think of all the trouble going on in our world today. I mean, have you watched the news lately? There's trouble out there. There's always some sort of political intrigue going on. Does this or that nation have nuclear weapons or not? What are the latest hateful statements from this or that leader? How many countries out there would love to see our country disappear?
Then there's the "natural" problems going on. We've heard about so many recently. Earthquakes, famines, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis -- there may not be many of those around here, but they're real and they've been all over the place. That's not even mentioning the biggest "natural disaster" that everyone's worried about right now: swine flu, the h1N1 virus. This seems to have many people in a panic. "What will we do? What can be done?" In fact, according to some, one of the most dangerous places you can be now is right here in church.
But that just brings us to the problems in the Christian church and in religion in general. It seems like everyone believes something different. And they're all either trying to convince you that their way is the right way and you better change, or they say that any way is the right way and it doesn't matter what you believe. The amount of denominations in Christianity or even among Lutherans can be dizzying. And then, when you do stand up for what you believe, for the truth, you often get labeled as being insensitive, intolerant, or just plain hateful. It's enough to make you want to say, "What are we supposed to believe anymore? How can anyone possibly get through this?"
So what can we do to get through these hard times? Can we just "hold on" and wait for it to pass? Jesus addresses this question in our text from Mark's gospel.
He reminds us that we shouldn't be surprised that all of this is going on in our world today. We should be expecting it. After all, Jesus himself prophesied things would be this way. "Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many." (Mk. 13:5-6) Jesus knew the religious world would be in chaos like it is today. He knew people would claim to be him. You probably remember some of the cult figures like David Koresh or Jim Jones who have claimed to be the Savior.
It's also common to find those who claim to have found the way of salvation, but that way for them isn't Jesus. Non-Christian religions might pay lip-service to Jesus being a great man, or even a prophet. But they always deny and often condemn calling him the only Savior.
Even in the Christian church, it's becoming less and less common to take Jesus at his word when he calls himself "the way, the truth, and the life." (Jn. 14:6) Many will say, "Yes, sure, Jesus is the Savior, but you need Jesus and your own good works to get to heaven." Or they'll say, "Yes, believe in Jesus, but you better make sure you really believe in him, you'd better feel that you believe in him and have really decided to choose him." And many are left in doubt whether they've really been saved or not.
These events are all signs, Jesus tells us, that God is not going to put up with this sinful world forever. The end is coming. Soon! And the disturbances in nature and the upheavals in the political realm are further evidence of this. "When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains." (Mk 13:7-8)
Jesus wasn't necessarily saying that the world is ending tomorrow (though it could.) He's just saying that we're living in the last times; we've been living in them since Jesus ascended into heaven. And just like the pregnant woman who starts to feel a twinge of pain from her unborn baby and knows that the birth will eventually be coming, we too know that the end is coming.
So as we live in these end times, what can we do? Simple. We hold on. I don't mean we plug our ears and close our eyes and just lock ourselves in our homes until Judgment day. No, we must hold on to the Word. That's what Jesus means when he says, "You must be on your guard." (Mk. 13:9) We need to be on our guard against all these things in the world crumbling around us. And how do we do that? We hold on to the Word.
God's Word is what gets us through the problems and dangers and lies of this world. It alone is the remedies for the false Christs, false teachings, and false teachers that are so prevalent around us today. It's the true, unadulterated, unchanged, and unchanging Word of God that we celebrate in the Lutheran Reformation today. It's not so much Martin Luther or churches that bear his name that we celebrate. It's God's Word that God allowed people like Luther to bring into light again.
That's where we find the truth to fight the lies around us. When we're told that our works are necessary to save us, we remember that we're saved by grace alone, not by works. We have God's undeserved love through faith alone. It's faith that's not from ourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph. 2:8-9) It's not our choice to become a believer, but God chose us in Christ. And how does he come to us to work faith in us? The Holy Spirit works that faith by Scripture alone, as the Word is proclaimed in our ears, or as water is poured on us with that Word in baptism. Hold on to that Word! We have the gift of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in the Scripture alone!
And when the other religions of this world point to other saviors, when they say, "look here he is!" or "There he is!" We know not to listen, because we know that our salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) It's Jesus! We're saved by Christ alone!
And because we're saved by Jesus, everything will turn out alright. Things will get better as long as we hold on to the Word. For all the earthquakes and famines and flu viruses only remind us that this world is not our home; heaven is. Jesus has gone there to prepare a place for us, and when the time is right, he'll come and get us! (Jn. 14:1-4)
But until he does return, we hold on! We hold on to the Word, constantly reading and studying it and growing in it to make sure no false teaching creeps its way into our hearts. Hold on to that Word! Treasure it and keep it close to your heart always!
But don't imagine that holding onto the Word means you should keep it to yourself. In fact, the more we hold on to God's Word, the more we will be compelled to share it. Jesus mentions that we'll even share it under the difficult circumstances of this world. "You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them ... Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. (Mk. 13:9,11)
People in this sinful world won't always like hearing the truth. But out of love for our Savior, out of love for the souls of those around us, we're going to be compelled to share the truth of that Word anyway. In fact, when you hold on to the Word, study and keep it close to your heart, Jesus here promises that you will always have an answer to those who question you. The Holy Spirit will be there to remind you of just the right words to say.
What those right words will be might vary with different situations, but you can bet they will be based on the same theme: Jesus is the only Savior. He came to save the world. He has forgiven our sins. He has calmed our fears. Because of him, we can repent, we can believe, we will live. That is the gospel, the gospel that Jesus reminds us we are to preach to all nations. (Mk. 13:10)
May this Reformation Sunday spur you on to hold on. During the earthquakes, famines, sicknesses, and false teachings, hold on to God's Word. It will give you the truth that will never let you down or disappoint you. Hold onto that Word, fill yourself up with the confidence of the Holy Spirit that you have been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in the message of Scripture alone. Hold on to the Word and receive boldness to proclaim this salvation in Christ alone to everyone you can.
Sure, there's troubles around us. Sure, we face hardships. But it will all end. Jesus will put a stop to it and everything will be alright forever. So trust in him! Rejoice in him! And hold on.
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