Insomnia

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Watch, lie awake, for you do not know when the appointed time is.” Such is the command of our Lord Jesus Christ for us who live in the end times. Be watchful and keep constant guard, lest the master of the house return and find you asleep in the middle of the night.

Insomnia is a problem that plagues scores of people in this day. Untold numbers lie awake at night, staring at the ceiling, watching the numbers on the clock, basking in the blueish light of the electronic devices. Worry keeps men and women up all night, concerned about the future, about what the morning will bring. Will they meet the next mortgage payment? Will they still have an income next month? Will their children grow up healthy and happy? The slow economy and the wars and rumors of wars swirling the globe certain help nothing.

But all that is but a distraction from what the Lord says to be about. Watch, stay awake, pay attention. The master of the house is away for a time, but He may return at any moment, and will He find you asleep?

What Manner of Stones

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, 'Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!'” What beautiful architecture the city of Jerusalem presented to the eye of the beholder. What splendor the kingdoms of this world lay before the one who looks at them. What riches the people of this earth display in bright array.

And what does Jesus say in reply? “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” Not one stone left standing upon another. No beautiful buildings standing proudly. No hallowed monuments to progress or prosperity left erect. No halls of riches and royalty left in their grand splendor.

With Foreign Blood

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In the religion of the Old Testament, the high priest entered the holy places every year in order to make sacrifices for his sin and the sins of the people. The sacrifices needed to be repeated each and every year. For they themselves did not purify the people of their sins, but acted as a sign of the covenant, in which the people had faith that One would come who would eventually save His people from their sins and restore their righteousness and their relationship with the Lord God in heaven.

Even as the sacrifices were being offered, the people of Israel were in need of new sacrifices. There are not enough bulls and goats and lambs in the world to atone for the sins of mankind. Sin is persistent. The old Adam – that bottomless sinful nature – is an excellent swimmer, and is not easily drowned, even in blood.

Seeing the Vision

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What Our Lord describes on the Mountain, St. John sees in his vision. He sees a great multitude of the poor in spirit made rich in the grace of Jesus Christ. Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. He sees those who were persecuted like the prophets. They have come to their reward. They have left behind all mourning, meekness, hunger, and thirst. Day and night they serve the Lord in His Temple. They are satisfied. St. John sees the saints of God purified and gathered about the Lamb who has freed them by the outpouring of His Blood.

And notice this: he sees no stars, no celebrities. He does not name the apostles, martyrs, or prophets. He does not name kings or reformers or saints commemorated by the Church. They are there, to be sure. But he does not see them or notice them. All he sees are saints. They are all loved and honored by God. It is not so much that they are nondescript. He does notice that they are from every tribe and nation. But his attention is firmly fixed not upon them but upon the Lamb. In this he is like them. For he sees that all the saints and all the holy angels and the four living creature are adoring the Lamb.

"By Grace I'm Saved!"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

By grace I’m saved, grace free and boundless;
My soul, believe and doubt it not.
Why stagger at this word of promise?
Has Scripture ever falsehood taught?
No! Then this word must true remain:
By grace you too will life obtain (LSB 566.1).

By grace you have been saved, freely and boundlessly. It is by grace alone that you are a child of God, an heir of the kingdom of heaven. “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” Believe this, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you are saved, apart from any boasting or merit of your own.

Believe this, because it is the central truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You have been justified – declared not guilty – by grace through faith for Christ's sake alone. This is the Gospel message. You are no longer under condemnation, no longer under the sentence of death, no longer in slavery to sin and the devil. All this has come about not by your own reason or strength, but because God loved you in this manner, that He sent His Son to bear your sins and be your savior.