Dear Christian friends:

It is difficult for people to face the fact of a severe illness, loss of a job or terminal illness and death. We usually enter into a stage of denial when confronted with these realities. It is even more difficult to face the fact of Christ's coming the Last Day. So it is not surprising that many who call themselves "Christian" do not believe in a visible Second Coming of Christ that will signal the end of the world as we know it. Advent stresses the truth of Christ's Second Coming, as does our text, which is the Gospel Lesson for this Sunday. It forces us to deal with our denials and

I. We need to face the fact of the world's indifference to the Second Coming, and not let that deter us.

A. The people in Noah's time were indifferent to their coming end, and persecuted Noah. In our text Jesus points this out, saying, "In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away." (vv. 37-39)

1. The Greek word for "eating" implies gluttony, and the entire expression denotes a habit of sensual pleasures. The people before the flood had 125 years of warning by Noah's preaching. They even had the object lesson of a huge boat being built on dry land far from a body of water. However, the people blindly mocked Noah and his three sons as they built the ark and continued to live their evil and godless ways.

2. Our text says, "They knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away." (v.39) The "knew" means to know so that one acts upon the knowledge. The people knew very well what was going to happen for God in mercy warned them by the building of the ark and by the preaching of Noah; they simply didn't believe it and laughed at God's message and messenger. They did not repent.

B. Similarly most people today are indifferent to God's message and God's messengers who proclaim the end of this world and a day of reckoning. In our text Jesus says, "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." (vv. 37,39)

1. Like the people of Noah's time, people today generally are living gluttonous, sensual lives, seeking pleasure upon pleasure and willing to lie, cheat, steal and kill to have it. You only need to read a newspaper or watch T.V. News for one day to be convinced of this.

2. As in Noah's time God, today still has a few faithful messengers proclaiming to the people. "Repent and believe the Gospel for the Kingdom of God is at hand."

3. God also has his arks today. They are the many church buildings with their cross crowned, steeples proclaiming to the passers-by: "God's Son, Jesus Christ has died for you; you, too, will die; this world will end; believe and be saved before it is too late!" But most just pass by and do not come in.

Summary: Christ will come, even though the world ignores and scorns that reality. The world's attitude is itself a sign of his coming. As we face the fact of the world's indifference, Jesus here points us to the reality of his second coming.

Transition: Let the world think what it will; all people will be profoundly affected by Christ's coming; also those who are indifferent to it.

II. We need to face the fact that some will be taken in and some will be left out even though this reality may offend us.

Jesus points this out in our text when he says, "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left." (vv. 40-41)

A. People may be engaged in the very same work, yet how different their fates when the end comes. One will be taken to be with Jesus Christ in his eternal kingdom of blessedness while the other one is left to the eternal God forsakenness of the place we call hell. We cannot judge a person's eternal future by his present position in life or his present vocation.

Illustration: I remember a lady who belonged to one of my congregations. She was extremely vocal about the fact that her father had been a Lutheran pastor and that her brother was also presently one. She seemed to be more secure about that than she was over the fact that she had been baptized and that Christ had died for her. Our positions in life and our associations in life do not necessarily determine our fate in eternity.

B. The day of Christ coming will make strange revelations and eternal separations between the godly and the ungodly. A brother may be taken and a sister left. A wife may be taken and a husband left. Some church members may be taken while others are left. We need to face the reality that while there will be joyous reunions in heaven there will also be final separations, which from our human viewpoint are offensive.

C. We need to face up to the fact that God judges on the basis of a different standard from man's. Men tend to judge on the basis of positions in life or relationships or works. But he will separate the believers from the unbelievers on the great day of his appearing. Remember what Jesus said before he ascended up into heaven: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:15-16)

Transition: so it is most important for us to watch ourselves not being deceived by position or associations, and not love relatives, friends, and co-workers more than Jesus. We must see to it that we remain in the faith and help others to come to the faith and remain in it. That's what Jesus emphasizes in the last part of our text when he tells us that his coming will be a surprise to all and that the implication is to keep watch and be ready always.

III. We need to face the fact that we need to keep watch always although our flesh doesn't want to.

In the text Jesus says, "Therefore keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." (vv. 42-44)

A. So what Jesus is telling us here is that we need to be watching for him and ready for him at all times, just as a home owner who wants to prevent a break-in needs to have his security system switched on at all times of the day and night. As we don't know when a burglar is coming, so we don't know when Jesus is coming. We need to be watchful and ready always!

B. Jesus says, "Keep watch!" and "Be ready!" (v. 42 and 44)

1. How do we do that? We do that by daily, continual repentance, which simply means confessing our sinfulness and sins something very distasteful to our proud nature and then trusting in Jesus Christ, who died for all sins, that we may have the assurance of God's forgiveness and hope for eternal life.

2. What is needed is spiritual alertness. Faith sustained by the Word and the Sacraments. Without the Word and the Sacraments we are in mortal danger. Our sinful flesh, Satan can lull us to sleep, making us feel secure in things that will be destroyed; or making us feel in despair that God could forgive such wretches as we.

3. Keeping watch also means do your evangelism and missionary work right now! You may not have a tomorrow.

Thornton Wilder in his novel "By The Skin of Our Teeth," has the maid trying to woo and seduce the master of the house, but she poses little threat. The lady of the house describes the maid as one "who lets the fire go out in the fireplace while she eats her ice cream before it melts." The maid was more interested in preserving the ice cream than in preserving the fire.

Advent is to remind us to keep the fire of faith burning brightly, for we must be ready for him whenever he comes. Because of God's grace in Jesus Christ we can face up to Christ's Second Coming, not with fear and foreboding but with joyous anticipation, and sure hope of better things to come.

Amen