Creation Judged - Luke 17:20-37

Luke 17:20-37

  Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. - Luke 17:26

God’s judgement is a terrifying thing. Our sinful flesh, the Old Adam, doesn’t like to hear about it. We just want to hear about how nice Jesus is. If God is going to judge, that means I must have done something wrong. We don’t like to think about how we are sinners. How we deserve God’s judgement. So we try to ignore it. To downplay it. To pretend it never has happened and never will happen.
 
But God’s judgement does come. It came in the days of Noah and only eight people survived. No one else heeded the warning. It came to Sodom while Lot lived there and only three survived. Not even ten righteous people could be found. It will come on the last day. Who will survive? Those who are in the Lord. What does it mean to be ‘in the Lord?’ To be baptized. Just as Noah and his family were saved through the Ark, you are saved through the promise given to you in your baptism. You died in your baptism and were given new life in Christ. Because of that, you do not have to fear the day of God’s judgement.

But when will the day of judgement come? When is Jesus coming back? As Christians we long for that day, when we can rest from our labor. But we are not to know the day or the hour. It will, however, be unexpected and obvious. It will not be hidden. So we keep watch. Waiting. Longing. Praying. That’s really the whole point of Advent. We are the watchmen ready to call out. The servants, waiting for their master to return. We pray for patient endurance until he does.