“Be on the alert!” Pay attention to what you see happening in the world around you, in both the church and the state, among your neighbors, in your family, and within yourself. But above all, give ear to what the Lord your God says; and so interpret all that you see by faith in His Word.
All around you, everywhere you look — and no less so where you refuse to look — there is sin and death, decay, and destruction. The whole world is wearing out and wasting away. None of it will last. The days are growing short. A harsh wind is blowing in a big storm. The Winter is coming.
It’s more than just the weather or the season of the year. There’s plenty of uncertainty in these dark and difficult days. Political strife, ideological divisions, and economic challenges abound.
All such trials and tribulations, within and without, are constant reminders and signs that we live in a fallen and perishing world, and all of Creation is subject to the curse of sin and death. Heaven and earth are passing away, and so are you. Your mortal flesh and blood, your heart, mind, and body are like the grass which withers and fades, like the autumn leaves which fall and blow away.
Number your days, and know how short your life here is. Consider your end, which comes before you know it, sooner than you think. There is no strength in you that shall survive.
But your hope is in the Lord. So be alert to Him. Hear and heed what He says. And pay attention to His Word of the Cross, in particular, even though it seems so futile, even worse than helpless.
Your dear Lord Jesus deals with sin, which is the real problem and the underlying cause of death and every evil. He forgives all sins which you have done; but He also deals with your sin at its heart, not simply your bad behavior, but your turning away from God, your Creator. You do not rely on Him or trust in Him; and that unbelief is your unrighteousness, which leads only to death.
But now, the Lord sends forth a Law, even to the ends of the earth. He establishes His justice in the midst of sin and death. Henceforth, His righteousness is near, and His salvation has gone forth forevermore. Though everything else will perish, His salvation and His righteousness remain.
It is true that His holy and righteous Law would condemn you and sentence you to death and hell, because you are neither holy nor righteous in yourself. Yet, He calls you to repentance, to faith and life in Him, to hope in the righteousness of Christ, the Lord, the incarnate Son of God. For He has suffered the great tribulation and the final judgment in Himself, and has thereby accomplished justice and established righteousness forever. Though He is the Creator of all things, the Word by whom all things are made — and though He is Life in Himself — He has taken the entire curse of sin and death, the destruction and decay of the whole world, into His own Body of flesh and blood.
By His Cross and Passion, the Lord Jesus Christ has atoned for the sins of the world, once-for-all. And in His bodily Resurrection from the dead, He has rectified what was broken in all of Creation. He has reconciled the sons and daughters of man unto His God and Father in heaven.
In flesh and blood like yours, as the true Man, conceived and born of St. Mary, He has waited in faith upon His Father. He has lived as Man is created and meant to live — not knowing the day or the hour in advance, but hearing and heeding and relying on His Father’s faithful Word. So has He been awake and alert. At the right time He was ready. He went to the Cross in faith and love.
So, learn the lesson of His Tree. Consider its tenderness, its Leaves and its Fruit, which are for the healing of the nations — and so also for your healing, unto faith and life in Him, body and soul.
He has sent forth His messengers with its rich and lush Fruits, to gather His elect from the four winds, His disciples from all the nations. Thus, by the Fruits of His Cross, that is, by the preaching of His Word and the administration of His Sacraments, He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies His whole Christian Church on earth. With these healthy Fruits, by this Ministry of His Gospel, He Himself is near you — He is right at the door — daily and richly to forgive you all your sins.
It is for the sake of His forgiveness that He has appointed His servants to care for His household and family, that is, to feed and clothe, nurture and teach His children. His pastors and teachers are watchmen on the heights, the doorkeepers of His Church on earth, the stewards of His Mysteries. They are called and ordained to keep watch, both day and night, to guard your coming in and your going out by the catechesis of His Word, and to guide all your days and your deeds in His Peace.
And what He says to them, He says also to you — to the confirmands this morning, to be sure, but so also to each and every one of you: “Be on the alert!” For to you, also, He has given your own proper duties, your own responsibilities within His household and family. That is where and how you are to watch and to wait for the coming of the Lord, faithfully doing what He has given you to do in the hope of His mercy, which is to say, in the sure and certain hope of His Resurrection.
Give heed to the Word of the Lord, His Law and His Gospel. And set your heart on the pilgrim’s way, to live by faith as a sojourner through the wilderness, as a wayfarer on earth. Not with your eyes downcast and your chin in the dirt, but with your heart, mind, and spirit lifted up, your eyes and ears fixed on Christ Jesus, your Savior; for He is ready, willing, and able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand erect in His glorious presence — blameless in body and soul.
In the midst of the great tribulation — which is to say, in your pilgrimage under the Cross — rest yourself in Him and live by faith in His Word. Gladly hear and learn His preaching and teaching. And avail yourself of the Gospel by making regular use of the means of grace, just as the Rite of Confirmation indicates. Remember your Baptism and exercise its ongoing, lifelong significance by confessing your sins and receiving Absolution in the Name of Jesus. And as often as you are given the blessed opportunity, eat and drink His Body and Blood in faith and with thanksgiving.
Likewise, keep yourself in the Love of God and live by faith in Christ Jesus, by praying in the Holy Spirit at all times and in all places, without ceasing, as the Lord Himself has taught you to pray and given you the very Words with which to do so.
Pray, also, within the fellowship of the Church, which is the Body of Christ. For it is in Him and with Him and through Him that you pray; and He would have you pray for one another in Him. You thereby serve and support your brothers and sisters with your prayer, and they do the same for you; and together you receive the answer to all your prayers in the Word and Flesh of Jesus.
So, then, by the Word of God and prayer, wait eagerly upon the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Fix your eyes on Him, and trust that, by His Sacrifice upon the Cross and in His Resurrection from the dead, He has established His righteousness and His salvation for you and for all, forever.
Do not be consumed by the temporal things of this life on earth, but temper your consuming with the humility of repentance. After all, you don’t know what even tomorrow may bring, nor if there will even be a tomorrow for you on this earth. But comfort and strengthen yourself with the eternal things of Christ, who has risen from the dead and lives forever, whose Word shall never pass away.
And as you wait upon His mercy, so have mercy on your neighbor. Comfort and encourage the doubting in their weakness and fear by loving them graciously and well. Save others by snatching them out of the fire, by warning them straightforwardly. Don’t wink or nod at sin, but call it what it is, and call your neighbor to repentance in a spirit of gentleness. To hate the garment polluted by the flesh is not to flee from your brother or sister, but to flee from sin in the fear of the Lord.
Have mercy on your neighbor, who is a sinner like yourself, just as you also depend on the mercy of God in Christ, and as He Himself is merciful. Be gentle and compassionate, as the Lord your God is gentle and compassionate with you. Forgive, as you yourself are freely and fully forgiven.
Have no fear of death, and do not despair of hope, for the Lord Himself now helps you in your weaknesses and doubts, and He now saves you from the fires of your passions and from the fires of eternal punishment in hell. As your merciful and great High Priest, He persists in His constant prayer and intercession for you. And here in His Church He faithfully speaks His Word to you. He sends out His holy angels to guard and keep you in body and soul, and He sends His ministers to gather you to Himself by the catechesis of His Word, by the forgiveness of all your sins in His Name and stead, and by giving you the Food and the Drink that you need at the proper time.
In calling you to repentance, He calls you daily to faith and life in His forgiveness. He calls you to find your Sabbath rest and perfect Peace in His righteousness and holiness, in His innocence and blessedness, now and forever. Indeed, with His forgiveness He delivers you from every evil, unto that day and hour when He shall call you from this vale of tears to Himself in heaven, as even now His fruitful Cross shines the summer sunshine of His Love upon you through His Gospel.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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