Viewing the End Times: Watch!

For the previous two weeks we’ve talked about the end times. We’ve talked about the Rapture and the believer’s secure knowledge that we have in Christ that we cannot be left behind. We’ve talked about the signs, and while some of them are certainly frightening, we also know that in Christ we will have the strength and courage to face them.
But today there is just one thing we want to focus on, and that is the word “Watch.”
“Watch” is a word that has a kind of double meaning. There’s a dual-edged sword in the word “watch.” For instance, when I was a child, my mother would leave the house and, before she left, she would give me one simple command: Do the dishes. And then she’d leave.
After she left, then, I’d get busy. Busy watching television. Busy reading comic books. Busy messing around. And then, finally, when I looked out the living room window and saw the lights from the car pulling up, I’d rush into the kitchen and start washing.
Now obviously that was no way to honor my mother and her request! My watching had very little to do with being eager for her to come home, but it had everything to do with trying to stay out of trouble when she got there!
But there were other times—probably around Christmas—when I’d be watching out the window for an entirely different reason. When Mom got home I knew that we’d be heading to Grandma’s house. There would be family. There would be good things to eat. There would be love and happiness. When I sat and watched for her return on those occasions, it was with eager expectation of what was to come.
When we look at the end times, we watch for their arrival. And, like my time spent looking out the living room window, there is a dual-edged sword to our watching. On the one hand, to watch is to be alert, to not become lackadaisical, to actively prepare for that Day so that we may escape judgment. But on the other hand, to watch is also to eagerly await the full redemption that we already posses in Christ. The word “watch” is a Law-Gospel statement in and of itself: it is something that both presses us into fearful and reverent action while at the same time comforting us with the knowledge of our salvation. We watch and prepare, but we also watch and wait.
In order to get at the full meaning of how God would have us watch for the Day of His coming, I want to take a brief look at each of our three readings for today. Each of the readings give us a slightly different picture of watching for that Day, but taken altogether they show us what it means to watch.
We’ll begin with the Gospel of Mark. First, let’s hear that again. (congregation member reads Gospel reading)
Mark 13:32-37 32 "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!'"
Thank you. Jesus’ words in Mark give us the most basic picture of watching. It’s looking, it’s waiting. “Be on guard! Be alert!” The owner of the house is going to return and the doorkeeper must keep watch for him.
In telling this story, Jesus casts us as the servants and Himself as the master of the house. We don’t know the day nor the hour in which He will return. It could be at any time, on any day. Maybe today. Will that Day catch us by surprise, or are we watching for it?
If we are truly watching for our Master’s return, that Day won’t come as an horrible shock but a pleasant surprise. We continually watch for that Day in order to be alert for when that Day is coming.
The Gospel of Mark tells us to watch by keeping one eye open for Christ’s return. It’s primarily an issue of being alert for that Day. But the Epistle of St. Jude fleshes out the concept of watching a bit more.
(congregation member reads Jude 1:20-25) Jude 1:20-25 20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear-- hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. 24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Thank you. “Watching,” for Jude, involves two things: He would have us stay faithful—to stay pure—and he would have us stay active.
The context of the book of Jude is centered around the coming of false teachers in the last days. Elsewhere in his book he calls these false teachers blemishes, grumblers, faultfinders that follow their own evil desires. And so if false teachers will abound all the more as the Day of Christ approaches, then we must first keep watch by being faithful to good teaching. We must keep our faith pure.
Now, in order to stay pure we must first be well versed in the basic tenets of the faith. I’m told that the government’s treasure agents are trained by spending countless hours poring over each and every minute detail of genuine twenty-dollar bills. They learn to correctly identify all the hallmarks of the real thing. Why? So that the counterfeit is all the more obvious.
In the same way for us, we must know—we must digest—the hallmarks of authentic Biblical Christianity so that we can more readily spot false teachings. This is what the New Testament calls “pure spiritual milk” . . . and it is what we are to feed upon. The more we know, understand, and believe in pure doctrine, the more we are likely to reject bad spiritual food. That’s how Jude would have us stay pure.
But as I already said, he would also have us stay active. Not just any activity, but an activity that is specifically formed by a great awareness of God’s grace in our lives. Notice Jude’s order of activity: First he says to build up your faith—we need to do those things which keep us rock solid in the faith. I’d suggest that today that means—at the very least—to attend worship on a consistent basis—because in worship we receive God’s Word and Sacraments--, to study God’s Word regularly, and as Jude says, to pray. Doing these things then builds a foundation for the activity that Jude mentions next.
Once our faith foundation is set, then Jude mentions three types of action done for others. The first is a ministry of mercy. Not just any mercy, but a mercy specifically shown to those who doubt. These will be the people who, for whatever reason, are struggling with some issue of the faith. We’re not called to judge them for their doubt, but to exhibit mercy, an compassionate understanding of what it is to struggle with doubt and even, perhaps, disbelief.
The second ministry of action Jude mentions is to “snatch others from the fire.” What fire? The fires of Hell. Remember that every person you meet, every person you see every day, they ultimately have one of only two eternal destinations: Heaven or Hell. What you say to them—or don’t say—directly influences which of those two destinations they will end up in. When we go out of our way and take the time to talk to someone who’s heading down the wrong path, we are making that effort to snatch them from the fire and save them.
The third ministry of action is another ministry of mercy, but this is of a different kind. It is a ministry, I think, not to the spiritually doubting, but to the spiritually dying.
You know someone that has been headed down the wrong path for a long, long time now. And despite your repeated efforts to snatch them from the fire, they have continued to make their own bad choices and insist upon going their own way. What do you do now? Quite honestly, at this point they are probably a bad influence on you. Do you cut off your relationship with them completely in an effort to stay pure?
Jude says, “no.” He says that we must continue to mercifully minister to them, but be very wary of them at the same time. The image he uses is powerful: It is an image of one who ministers to the physical needs of people contaminated by leprosy. Those who would minister to lepers must be merciful, loving, caring . . . but at the same time they must also be very, very careful in handling even the clothing of those they minister to, lest they themselves become contaminated by the same disease. In other words, though we minister in mercy to those who have chosen a lifestyle of sinful behavior, we cannot allow ourselves to join them in their sin. This ministry of mercy is one that says, “I am committed to offering you love and comfort and friendship, but I am also committed to walking down a different path that what you have chosen.”
Mark tells us to be alert. Jude says we watch by staying faithful, staying pure, and staying active. And finally, Isaiah says that we watch by eager expectation.
This, in my mind, is the best type of watching. This is the “going to Grandma’s house” kind of watching. It’s the watching that knows good things are coming, and they are coming soon.
Isaiah 51:4-6 4 "Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. 5 My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
Even the first five words in this passage are simply amazing. “Listen to me, my people.” Stop right there . . . “my people.” This is the Lord speaking . . . and He calls us His people.”
You are God’s own people! Chosen children of God! By His work and His choice, you are a precious and valued member of the family of God. You. And to you, His child, God says that Christmas is coming, and there is a big, big gift under the tree with your name on it.
“My righteousness draws near speedily; my salvation is on the way.” This old world can get pretty difficult sometimes, can’t it? This week alone I buried one church member and married two others. I wept tears of grief with those mourning the loss of their precious mother, and I wept tears of joy with those beginning their new life together. It’s been a week of conflicting emotions, but that’s just the way life goes, isn’t it? Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we mourn. Sometimes we feel good, sometimes we hurt deeply.
But God says to me, “My salvation is on the way!” There’s coming a time when the conflict will be over, and in the conflict between grief and joy, joy will be the winner for all eternity. Grief will be gone, regret will be gone . . . and only joy—deep, deep joy of being in the presence of Jesus Christ my precious savior—will be left.
That’s the kind of watching I truly enjoy! Oh, there’s something good, something great to look forward to when Christ returns! And because of Christ’s work for us, each of us, as member of God’s own family, can look forward to that wonderful time.

In Mark, Jesus tells us to be alert. Jude tells us to stay pure and stay active. Isaiah tells us that our redemption is coming . . . but they all tell us to watch. Watch for the Day when Christ will return. Watch and prepare, yes . . . but also watch and wait in eager expectation of good things to come.