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?

To what should you pay attention? Why should you stay awake? Pay attention to the work of your calling, to the responsibilities of your station in life. How does the Lord desire to find His house? In order, with the servants doing what they are charged with doing. He desires that the kingdom keep running. Keep calm and carry on, as they say. Each day, wake up in the Lord, do your work as though serving the Lord, and each night lie down and sleep in the peace of the Lord. Six days you work, and the seventh day you rest, that God may work in you.

And just what is the work of your calling? “ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39) Love God and love your neighbor. This is what makes up the Christian life. All the rest of life, all the rest of the Law hangs upon these two commands. If you love God with all you are and have, then you will necessarily love your neighbor as yourself. Indeed, you will love your neighbor more than yourself.

Are you a father? Then make an honest wage and use it to support and provide for your wife and children. Raise up your children in the fear and grace of the Lord, that they may follow the way of life all their lives. Teach them how to love by loving them and their mother.

Are you a worker? Then do the work you have been hired to do, without grumbling or murmuring. Receive your wages with humility. Perform your duties to the best of your abilities, not wasting or causing harm.

Are you a citizen? Then work together with your neighbors and fellow citizens for the good of your city, state, and nation. As far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people. Act according to the laws of our land, and if those laws are wrong, then work to change them. Obey the government, for God has ordained our leaders for His purposes.

Are you a Christian? Then remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Gladly hear the Word of God and learn it. Receive the Holy Sacraments in repentance and faith, that your sins may be forgiven and you receive strength to live according to your stations in life.

The list could go on and on, for each of you has a unique list of responsibilities and relationships. And therefore each of you has a unique set of failures and sins related to them. For you have not loved the Lord with your whole heart. Neither have you loved your neighbor as yourself. You have loved yourself more than others and despised the things of God.

You would rather not do the work of your calling which begins anew each morning. You would rather sit at home and lounge about, or sit in the woods and wait for the big one. You would rather build fancy new bins and fill them up. You would rather pad your balance sheet. You would rather listen to the murmuring of the pundits and prophets of this age. You would rather keep your hands to yourself than get dirty doing the work your neighbor requires.

The master may come at any moment, and what will He find? His house in disarray, His servants scattered, His flocks wandered and malnourished. For you have the command to watch, stay awake, keep guard. But you have failed. You have not done your duty as a faithful servant.

There is a wondrous thing about the master of this house, though. He is the Master, the Lord of all things, but He is also the servant, the lowest of all mankind. He has loved and served you, even when you would not serve Him. He Has served you by taking on your flesh and blood, your body and soul. He has humbled Himself to become like you in every way, even to die for you, even to die upon the cross. He has loved and served you by doing what you could not do. He has given Himself for you, for the forgiveness of your sins. He has handed over His life, that you might not face death.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but [these] words will not pass away.” The signs of the times are around you. Look and see, be on your guard, take care. Keep watch, lest you be found sleeping when the Lord of the house returns. For He is certainly coming.

But He is coming to call to Himself the faithful of the earth, the elect from every nation. “He will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.” Our Lord Christ is coming to call you to Himself. He is coming into His house to find those servants who are awake and alert, that He might call them to Himself in heaven, to stand among the multitude of the saints in heaven. The judgment has already passed. The end of the age is already consummated. Your life is already secure.

Therefore, you can say with King David, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8) You can lie down and sleep, for you already dwell in the safety of the Lord's house. The ones who worry, the ones who lie awake at night – they are the ones who are yet outside the walls of Zion, outside the doors of the Lord's house. But you dwell in safety, and you can sleep in peace.

Lie down and sleep in peace. Rest securely, safe in the knowledge that you are in Christ, because He is in you. Sleep well, comforted by the peace of God. Then rise each day to begin the work of your calling anew. Let the Master find you not idle, but content to fulfill His command. Let Him find you doing what He has created and called you to do. God has shown you His love in that He died for you. Show your love for your neighbor by serving him the best you can, with the gifts and talents that the Lord has given you. If you are doing the work of your calling, then you have no need to fear when the Master returns, for your house is already in order.

Remember and take to heart these words from Solomon:

If you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Do not be afraid of sudden terror
or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes,
for the LORD will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being caught.
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it. (Proverbs 3:24-27)

And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.