Sidney UMC - Veteran’s Day Sunday/24th Sunday after Pentecost - 11/12/23 - Sermon - “Come To Christ Or Christ Comes To You!”

                                    Sunday 11/12/23 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “Come To Christ Or Christ Comes To You!”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 78:1-7                                        

New Testament Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 25:1-13

          Many of us have seen images of Jesus. There are all sorts of them. Maybe we have seen them in churches, like the portrait of Jesus that we have downstairs in our church fellowship hall. Maybe we have our own portrait of Jesus in our home or apartment. We have likely seen images of Jesus on television, and maybe even on the internet. In fact, one our Sidney Fire Department fire fighters dressed as Jesus for Halloween this year.

          There is a great debate over what Jesus looked like, as we don’t know exactly for sure. Some people, think Jesus may have been good looking or not good looking. We don’t know how tall he was, his eye color, etc. Some folks have argued for example, that the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible Prophet Isaiah predicted that Jesus would not be good looking, but there are different views on this. While this is true, and while I have seen many depictions of Jesus, many of us still know and love Jesus.

It is probably true that whenever I pray and envision Jesus with my eyes closed that I will probably imagine the very pale looking Jesus we have portrayed in our church fellowship hall. Even though Jesus was probably not pale, and probably did not have light hair, as some of us have come to think of Jesus. Even though portraits of Jesus are probably mostly historically inaccurate, we still know and love Jesus. Isn’t just human nature to want make a portrait or a painting of Jesus if you are a Christian? I have seen white Jesus, I have seen Korean Jesus, I have seen Native American Jesus, and so on and so forth.

I suppose that it does really matter what Jesus looked like in the flesh, but more importantly who Jesus was, what he did, and who he still is today. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that on earth Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, was fully God and fully human. I believe that he lived a perfect life, taught love and forgiveness, performed miracles, died for us, rose again, ascended to heaven, and will one day return in glory. I cannot definitely tell you what Jesus looked like physically, but my Lord and Savior, died for me. When I pray, when I worship, I have felt the presence, the power, the love, the grace, and the healing of Jesus Christ our Lord.

          I came to Christ as my Lord and Savior at thirteen years old, and even though my soul was saved, I still follow and surrender to Christ daily. As the first part of my sermon title says for this morning, “Come to Christ,” this is something I did at the age of thirteen. Even so, the scriptures tell us that we can freely choose Christ, but the scriptures also says as my sermon title for this morning says, “Come To Christ Or Christ Comes To You!”

          Basically, put my friends, we are all going to be face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ one day. The good news is, is that we can decide how this face-to-face meeting will go, and we can even have some power over the circumstances of this face-to-face meeting with Christ. When we stand before Jesus Christ face-to-face, will we tell the Lord of life, that we thought that he would be taller? Do tell the savior of the world, that we imagined that he would look different? Or will we be in such awe in Christ’s presence that it won’t matter?

          There are so many veterans that I know that love and believe in Jesus. I can imagine that during there military service, especially if it was combat or a dangerous situation that their faith in Christ was central. All of us, will one day stand the presence of Jesus Christ our Lord. At least this is what the scripture tells us. Do we want to stand before Jesus, knowing him ahead of time, or just meeting him for the first time? You see, according the scriptures and centuries of belief, we will all one day see Jesus. To put it another way, as my sermon title says for this morning, once again: “Come To Christ Or Christ Comes To You!” You can know him here and now, but either way, we will all encounter the King of Kings and Lord of Lords one day.

          When I stand in presence of Jesus one day, the only defense that I can give for myself is my faith in him. There is nothing I have done or can do, that will justify my right to be among the righteous for eternity. For only through Christ are we made righteous.

          Being a veteran from the Armed Force can be a complicated thing. Some were drafted, some enlisted, and there are other stories of how different people ended up in the military. There is also a lot of opinions about the military, what the military should be, how the military should function, etc. Some people critique a certain war as needed or as unnecessary. We sometimes hear of soldiers that did not serve with distinction and were dishonorably discharged. Yet the majority of our soldiers service with honor, distinction, and decency.

          Some veterans that fought in wars came home to parades, and others came home to being heckled, spat upon, and called things like “baby killer.” In our culture it is so easy to criticize and critique a soldier, a war, etc. Yet, the mere fact that it is legal in this country for me to be able to stand here saying what I am saying right now, is possible because of the brave men and women who sacrificed so much.

          If you feel like you have freedom, if you feel like you can be yourself, if you feel like you speak without fear, then we can thank our veterans and those who never made it home for that. It is so easy to critique, to judge, to make opinions, but there are countries and cultures in this world that do not have anything close the freedoms that we enjoy in these United States. Does our country have problems that we need to continue to work on? Yes, of course!

          I know this though; thousands and thousands of people risk life and limb to get to these United States every year. Our military, our Armed Forces is tasked with keeping us safe and they serve sometimes in the hardest and roughest of conditions. Even though war is not something as Christians that we like, we grateful for the service of our warriors, and the freedoms that they have paid such a high price to give us.

          As I have also said, I will always do everything that I can to honor our service men and women, and our veterans. For without them, I might not have this pulpit and the freedom that I have to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. In addition, some of our veterans carry real scars and emotional scars. We owe it to our warriors to honor their service and their sacrifice. You know else honors their veterans and their soldiers? Just about every country that I can think off. The Canadians, the British, the French, etc., rightly thank and honor those people that defend their freedom and their ability to live free lives. For all of these reasons, and countless more, I say on behalf of a grateful church, thank you to our warriors, our soldiers, our veterans. You will always be loved and respected here.

          Whether a soldier, a veteran, a bank robber, a teacher, a pastor, etc., we will all encounter Jesus Christ one day. In fact, in looking at our reading for this morning from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, the Apostle Paul, once again, writes to the church in Thessalonica or the Thessalonians. Starting in 4:13 that Apostle Paul says, once again:

¹³ But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. ¹⁵ For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died                             (1 Thess. 4:13-15, NRSV). 

          The Apostle Paul tells the Thessalonians, the church in Thessalonica that if people die in Christ, we have great cause for hope. Why do we have hope, as living people for those who have died in Christ? We have hope, because we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and according to the Apostle Paul that through Jesus, “God will bring with him those who have died.” Those who die in Christ will be with Jesus, but we all will encounter Jesus. We get to choose, or as my sermon title says “Come To Christ Or Christ Comes To You!” The Apostle Paul then concludes our reading from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, in 4:16-18, saying of Jesus, once again:

¹⁶ For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words   (1 Thess. 4:16-18, NRSV).

          The scripture tells, especially in the Book or Revelation, about the return of Jesus Christ to earth. The vast majority of Christians for the last two-thousand years have believed that one day Jesus would return and then we would truly have a world of peace, righteousness, joy, and prosperity. There are also many understandings about what this return of Christ will look like. Further, when will the church of Jesus Christ that is alive on earth go to be with Jesus Christ? The three main categories of the return of Christ in field of study of “Eschatology,” or “The Last Things” are what we call “Pre-Tribulation,” “Mid-Tribulation,” and “Post-Tribulation.”

          To put this another way, when with the church of Jesus Christ go to be with Christ. I believe that when we die in Christ we go to be with Christ, but what if Christ returns and we are still alive? The Book of Revelation also talks about this seven-year period of time called “Tribulation.” This is a time in human history of great uncertainty, evil, violence, destruction, and the rise of the “Anti-Christ”. This is what the Book of Revelation says is the end of the world. Folks that believe in the “Pre-Tribulation” believe that church on earth will be “Raptured” or taken up into heaven before this time of “Tribulation” begins.

          Then are some Christians that are “Mid-Tribulation,” and believe that Jesus will return mid-way through this time of “Tribulation.” The are also those that believe that Jesus will return after the whole seven-year “Tribulation” occurs. These “Post-Tribulation” folks would say that the Christian Church must live through all the turmoil, evil, and tumult of the time of “Tribulation.” There has long been scholarly debate about the return of Christ, “The Rapture,” “The Tribulation,” etc. What most Christians agree on though, is that Jesus will return one day. As Our communion liturgy says: “Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again” (UMH, pg. 14). When we say those words, do we mean them literally, or just metaphorically?

          The historic church and most Christians have believed for two-thousand years that Jesus will return. Do I think the “Pre-Tribulation” “Rapture” perspective would be best for the Church of Jesus Christ? Well of course! We would be gone before all the terribleness of “The Tribulation” goes down. As a student of our faith however, some believe in the return of Christ differently.

          Beyond this though, the biggest reason that myself and majority of Christians for two-thousand years have believed in the return of Christ to earth, is because Jesus himself told us this would happen. In fact, when we look at our gospel lesson from Matthew 25:1-13 for this morning, once again, Jesus gives us a parable or a story. This parable or story is often called “The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids.” This parable or story is about the return of Jesus Christ. Let’s look at what Matthew 25:1-13 says for this morning, starting again with Matthew 25:1 saying:

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten young women took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  ² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept (Mt. 25:1-5, NRSV).

          Jesus tells us in this parable or story called “The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids” that the kingdom of heaven can be compared to ten young women who took oil lamps out to meet the bridegroom. The church of course is the bridegroom of Christ. Of these ten young women, Jesus tells us, once again that five of these young women were wise and five were foolish. The wise took oil for there lamps and the foolish took no oil for their lamps. The bridegroom, or Jesus however, was delayed, and as a result, the ten young women got tired and fell asleep while waiting.

          Our gospel of Matthew 25:1-13 reading then says picks and finishes in Matthew 25:6-13, saying:

⁶ But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those young women got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Later the other young women came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹² But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

          Of the ten young bridesmaids, five were ready and five weren’t. Jesus says however, he will return to us at the appointed time that only God knows. Jesus tells us to “Keep awake” spiritually, and to know that one day he will return in glory.

          On this Veteran’s Day Sunday, one our great national hymns, and our closing hymn for this morning, talks about the return of Christ. Written by Julia Ward Howe in 1861, and sung by thousands of Union Soldiers, as they fought to rid this country of our original sin of slavery.

          While this hymn in part talks about the soldiers dying to make enslaved people free, it also talks about the return of Christ. For example, in the first verse of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” which is 717 in our UMH, the hymn starts by saying: “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” The glorious return of Jesus Christ. In the fourth verse of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” highlighting what Union Soldiers were fighting for in the Civil War, in part compares Jesus to the Civil War saying: “As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free His truth is marching on.” In the fifth and final verse of our closing hymn “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” the verse begins speaking of the return of Jesus Christ. The fifth verse starts by saying: “He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave”.

          Friends we don’t live in a perfect country. We did not start as a perfect country, but I think that over time we are becoming as the preamble of our Constitution says, “a more perfect union.” We have freedom, because of our soldiers, our veterans, and we can have freedom spiritually, through Jesus Christ. Knowing Christ and following Christ is amazing, but either way my friends, “Come To Christ Or Christ Comes To You!” Thanks again to our warriors, to our veterans. Happy Veteran’s Day Sunday! Amen.