Stay Awake!

“And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake!” Mark 13:37 ESV Today is the last Sunday in the church year. As Jesus concludes His private word to the four disciples, He speaks to us all about the posture of those who wait for His appearing and the salvation of our God with the words “Stay awake!” While idle indifference may seem harmless, the consequence is irrevocable. With this word, our Lord awakens us today to hope and faith in Him with eternal significance.

There are many things that we do in our everyday lives that can seem mundane or trivial. These tasks that we do or even the very patterns of our day can become so routine that they are almost second nature. We might even feel like we can do them in our sleep. But we can also get so caught up in the moment of the mundane that we lose track of where we are, or we get so busy going from one crisis to the next that we almost fall asleep to what is really going on around us. We can be so into our own thoughts and problems that we don’t even hear the calls for help right before us. Just as simple tasks require us to be alert, so our spiritual lives require us to be ready and alert. Alertness and being attentive is a critical behavior that impacts not only our own lives and safety, but also the lives of those around us and especially those in our care.

Jesus’ words today are the call to attention that can bring us into the very moment where He is present. This “little apocalypse,” Jesus’ Olivet Sermon, is just such a call. Even as James and John, Peter and Andrew are still pondering the beauty of the Temple after marveling at the stunning view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, Jesus calls them and us to Himself – to His death and resurrection for us and all people as the locus of God’s presence and the city whose foundation is Peace. While these words answer the original question of “when” with alarming clarity, their purpose is something else. In fact, the answer about the timing of our Lord’s return is reserved only for the Father who is calling us to an attentive life of hope and faith in Him whose appearing will pale the sun, moon, and stars.

With these words the call to attention is now. This is the hour for which He came that we might be awake and not remain asleep. The Spirit awakens us to a new life in Him who gives us eternal life in His death. He awakens us in baptism as we are made alive and now stand in the power of his resurrection. We are awakened with the joy that He has given us at His Table as we receive the forgiveness of our sins in the eating of the Bread and the drinking of the Cup. By doing this, we proclaim His death is for us, and we are made to be His community in our “remembering” what He has already accomplished for us. This is the very hour in which we live out our testimony of his grace and forgiveness in our lives as an encouragement to others. Our Lord speaks His word to us today that we be awake and not asleep, that we would be attentive to His arrival by sharing the good news that calls others to faith in Him! Let the whole world know that our Lord is near as we stay awake in Him.

+ + + + + + + GIVING THANKS + + + + + + +

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week at International Lutheran Church, we take this moment to thank all those who have faithfully supported the ministry of ILC throughout the year. Your commitment to this community and the ministry that we do together is an encouragement to us all. As your pastor, I also want to especially draw your attention to the continued needs of our ministry and the opportunity we have to be a blessing to others. There are two special ways that you might consider in showing thanks to God for His provision in your life. The first opportunity is our (1) Regular giving and budget for the year. While we are on target to reach our projected giving goals for 2024, your year-end gifts will ensure that we can move into 2025 with a solid foundation. The second opportunity to give is to our participation with Samaritan’s Purse and (2) Operation Christmas Child. You can still pick up a box today to bless a child with Christmas joy. The boxes will be blessed during our Thanksgiving Worship Service on 11/28 at 7PM. As we are God’s people in this place and time, we gather to encourage and support one another as well as those outside our community. For this we give thanks!

Pastor Carl