Worship Sundays at 9 am
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To speak of the final day that Luke 21 talks about as “The Judgment Day” may not tell the whole story. God’s Judgment has gotten a bad rap. It’s not that there aren’t examples of judgment like Sodom and Gomorrah where fire and brimstone consumed both of those towns (Gen Ch 19). But it is more often the case that when judgment comes there is also mercy and consolation. When Adam and Eve were banished from the garden (Gen Ch 3), they were given animal skins to wear (to cover their nakedness) and work to do in tilling the ground. This is perhaps a severe mercy, but definitely mercy at work.
When angels come to human beings, it always causes fear and trembling. It’s why the first thing they usually say is, “fear not.” The next thing that happens is that they have news. It is usually good news, even though it may stretch us out of our comfort zone. This was true for the shepherds in the fields and for Mary and for Joseph. It was also true for Elijah, angels provide assurance and direction, and it will be true for us when we greet the angels of God.
When justice and righteousness do finally come as God has promised, then mercy and strength will also come to God’s people. The one who will bring this judgment and justice will be known in this way, “The Lord is our Righteousness.” Somehow judgment is not fire and brimstone, fear and trembling only. It is hope and righteousness that are the work of God.
Luke Ch 21 talks about seeing the Son of Man coming in the clouds and our having the strength to stand before him. You can hear in those words the weight of sober seriousness and fear. We may indeed be afraid, but there is also a hint of something else. There is surprise, news we hadn’t expected. And in that moment of Judgment the final word will be a word of life, filled with mercy and consolation. It will be a moment when we come into our own and when we are finally completed in all we were created to be. For the Lord will be our Righteousness.
Jeremiah 33:14-16 also blends these two activities together:
14The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The LORD is our righteousness.”
Fear is really an opportunity to stop and see the powerful gifts of God at work in us.
Pastor Mitch