First Sunday in Advent at Epiphany on November 30, 2008

Mark 13:32-37 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³ Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. ³⁴ It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. ³⁵ "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back-- whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. ³⁶ If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'"

Look back to look ahead

Banks failed. The stock market crashed. Millions of citizens suddenly had no savings. Factories closed their gates, shops were shuttered, workers laid off. Farms failed. The auto industry faltered. The government had difficulty collecting taxes to keep services going. It became so bad that there were even suggestions that some of the “heavier eaters” at Milwaukee’s Washington Park Zoo be slaughtered and fed to the poor, who in some cities were reduced to selling pencils on street corners. These were bad days. It was the Great Depression (1929-1942).

The media today constantly reminds us that we are living in bad days. Many believe that we are living in a recession (at least two months in a row of economic decline). A sustained recession may become a depression. Lost jobs, stock market failing, bailouts for banks and lenders and car manufacturers.

It takes a sense of history to appreciate what America is. The average American has a poor memory and is not a student of history. (Otherwise few politicians would be re-elected.) A CEO of a major company may say, “Don’t tell me about yesterday. Tell me about tomorrow. That’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life.” That’s good managerial philosophy. It has penetrated our culture. It is poor soil for the flowering of gratitude and contentment. We cannot look ahead until we first look back.

This morning as Jesus tells us to be on guard and be alert for his future coming, we take a short trip through history to see where we have been. We look back to look ahead. God has taken care of us in the past and we trust He will take care of us in the future.

In 1929 the WELS built Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary for the training of the synod’s pastors. We had rapid expansion in home missions. There were building projects at East Fork reservation for the Apaches and various ministerial education schools, chapels for our mission in Poland, a new campus ministry program in Madison all meant increased expenditures. Contributions did not keep up with synodical expansion. The synod was saddled with a debt of over $700,000 in 1929. In today’s dollars that would be roughly 7 million. The worst aspect of this [debt and great depression],” as one WELS historian put it, “was the wet-blanket effect the awesome debt had on every effort to extend and even maintain the church’s mission program. Any proposal of [extended mission work] was countered with the old refrain, ‘We are in debt already.’”

During the Great Depression, many teachers and pastors did not receive calls out of college or seminary. Many of the professors, teachers and pastors who did have calls had their salaries reduced by 28-36 percent. No new synod elementary schools or mission churches were built in this time.

Today, with the decline in the economy, Epiphany and the WELS are again feeling the economic effects of this recession. Our own members have had work hours reduced or lost their jobs. Our congregation’s offerings are down. One WELS member has pledged $3 million a year over five years to the synod, but with the recent downturn in the stock market, he is unable at this time to complete his pledge. The same market conditions have affected the Schwan Foundation which pledged to provide $8 million for our synod’s mission and ministry for the next calendar year, but that amount will be significantly reduced.

There is a very real temptation for us to give in to the same “wet-blanket” effect of the 1930s. The reaction is very normal to hunker down and spend only on necessities and not on gospel outreach. The downturn in the economy has the very real effect of causing an attitude of defeatism to creep into our thinking, our emotions, and even into our faith. Defeatism is prophesied by the pundits. Defeatism is proclaimed in the press. But defeat will not be preached from our pulpits.

Defeatism is a lack of faith. The cure for defeatism in the Church, then, is the strengthening of faith. If you are fearful of the future, then you need to be reminded of the past. The Lord of the Church is the Lord of our lives. The God who controlled the past is the God who controls our future. The King of history is the King of glory. The same God who fulfilled His promises and demonstrated His power in the past, is the same God who will fulfill His promises and display His power in the future. The cure for the problems plaguing the Church lay in the rich storehouse of God’s Word and His powerful Gospel.

You may remember your mother or grandmother saving twist ties and Kool-Whip containers and canning her own food. You may remember your father or grandfather straightening nails to reuse or fixing his own vehicles and farm equipment and saying “no” to all luxuries. They didn’t spend money they didn’t have. Maybe recession is good for us in today’s America. It reminds us not to overspend and go into debit. It may force us to reassess our priorities and expenses. It may teach us to live within our means. A recession should not limit our spreading of the gospel, however.

Jesus told the story about a man who is absent from his house for a time while away on business. He gives instructions to his servants to manage his household affairs while he is absent. Each of his servants has an assigned task. The doorkeeper especially is to keep watch, so he can alert the others of his master’s return.

The Master of the house is Jesus. The servants are you – His followers. Jesus has left and ascended into heaven. He will return again on Judgment Day. Until then, you each have an assigned task – to use His Word and Sacraments faithfully, to preach and teach the gospel at every opportunity, to make disciples of all nations, and to support the world-wide spread of the gospel with your offerings.

Human nature likes to postpone, to put things off until tomorrow. Christians, too, have this manana nature. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll have more time to think about my Christian responsibilities.” Or “Perhaps next year I’ll be in a better financial situation to give in my offerings.” Or “Someday soon I’ll hopefully be able to devote more thought to spiritual matters.” The Advent message of Noah, of Peter, of Jesus that we heard today is “Now!” “Today!” Tomorrow or next year may be too late. Your pastor is the watchman.

Be on guard! Be alert! Don’t immerse yourself in the things of this world and thus lose your own soul. Always keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.

No matter what, we will preach Christ. We will preach Him because when it comes to the end times, knowing Him who gave His life so you might have life, is a good bit of knowledge to have. We will preach Christ because it is impossible to find salvation in anyone other than Jesus. (Acts 4:12) We will preach Christ because if you know Him as Savior, it will make a very large difference to your dying and your eternity. What kind of difference? Well, if you know Christ, your lost moment in time will be followed by your first moment in eternity. Your death will mean a positive and permanent change of address. On earth, everything has been tainted by iniquity. Look at the news and you will always see ongoing stories of sin, sorrow, and sadness. You will be overwhelmed by reports of pain, prejudice, and poverty. You will be dumbfounded by descriptions of depression, discouragement, disappointment, and disaster. But for a Christian, when the end comes, we have been promised that they will enter the perfect and pure presence of God. We will be with our Savior (John 14:3), and in His company, all the inequities, injustices and injuries of life will be for once, for all, for eternity, eliminated (Revelation 7:15-17).

If you know Christ as your Savior, not only will the nastiness of life around you be changed, but you, yourself will be transformed (1 Corinthians 15:52). Understand, Christians daily rejoice that, because of Jesus, having been washed in the blood He shed for them upon Calvary's cross, they are forgiven (1 Corinthians 12:20). But we also inwardly groan and sigh, because no matter how hard we try to live a life of thanksgiving and appreciation, we still are burdened by sin (2 Corinthians 5:2-4). But, when Jesus comes again, the sinful nature that weighs us down will be cut free, and our souls will soar in a never-ending eternity of praise (Revelation 14:7).

Watch. Be on guard. Be alert. Don’t hunker down. Don’t let the economy be a wet blanket. Don’t let a recession cause a defeatist attitude to darken your day. No matter what, preach Christ so that you are prepared for Christ.

Without Jesus Christ as your Savior, without the salvation which comes from His birth, His life, His suffering, His death, and His wondrous resurrection, the last moment of time is dark, dreadful, and deadly. With Jesus, you will know terminal illnesses are not terminal and the grave is not the gravest thing that can happen to you. That's what it means to be prepared for Jesus.

Even in the midst of the Great Depression in the 1930s, our church (which was only a few years old at the time) and church body still preached Jesus Christ. Christians may not have had a job during those years, but they had a Savior. They had a Savior who understood their poverty, for He, too, had been penniless. In the '40s, when the sons and daughters of this great country went off to war; when the best of our youth were spilling their blood, and dying terrible deaths on the sandy beaches in Europe, Africa, and Asia, the message went out: “You are not alone. Jesus, who spilled His blood so you could have hope, is with you.” In the '50s, when America was building and rebuilding, our members were encouraged to build on Jesus. In the '60s, as social unrest tore our country and communities apart, the truth of God's great grace in Jesus brought peace to people who were confused. In the '70s, '80s, '90s, and now, in a new decade, century, and millenium, the message continues: “Jesus has come so you might have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

God rescued His people and His Church from the Great Depression. He saved His people from World Wars. He salvaged His people from decades of open sin, rebellion, sex and drug use. He has saved us in the past and He will save us in the future.

In the 1930s, God had placed a serious challenge before our WELS forefathers. Let’s briefly review some statistical history to again discover how the Lord of the Church blessed His people and took care of them. In 1900, we had 214 pastors. There were 631 pastors in 1950. There were 48 teachers in 1900. There were 438 in 1950. There were 378 congregations and preaching stations in 1900, but 829 congregations in 1950. In 1892 there were 109, 879 members. That number grew to 214,425 members in 1950. Our synod also expanded home missions in America and world missions to places like Poland and Nigeria.

In the ancient world, there was a mathematician by the name of Archimedes. He was so fond of performing his mathematical problems that, when the city in which he was living fell to the Romans, he didn't pay any attention. He didn't pay attention to the tramp of the soldiers. He didn't pay attention to the cries of the people. He didn't pay any attention when the enemy came down his street. He didn't pay any attention when they entered his house. Through all of that, he continued to work at his interesting, albeit of secondary importance now, geometric calculations. It was only when the soldier stood before him and swung his sword, that he paid attention. And then it was too late. Don't you do the same.

Be prepared for Christ. Be alert. Watch. Be ready. That’s what we have done here at Epiphany and in the WELS. We have preached Christ because we don't want you to copy Archimedes’ mistake. Don’t busy yourself with the secondary stuff and leave the important stuff wanting. The time is growing short. Be prepared. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Don’t close your ears to the inevitable. Don’t hunker down. Don’t stop serving your Master. The world’s last moment is approaching. Yours is coming. Don't wait for death to come into your life, touch you on the shoulder and, in surprise, say, “What, Master, you’ve come for home already?” The time is short.

In His infinite love and wisdom, God has seen fit to place another serious challenge before us. But as he has clearly demonstrated in the past, He promises to bless even in circumstances that seem difficult and dark. It not a time for panic and frustration. Rather, we look to God in confident faith. We are the faithful servants and watchman. We are committed to work together. United in mission to carry out the work God has given us. Look back so that we may move ahead with the gospel. Amen.