Rev. Tatiana Cantarella

Psalm 96; Luke 24:50-53; Matthew 24:36–51; 2 Peter 3:3-15а

Series of sermons on the Apostle's Creed

05: "And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: who … ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from where he shall come to judge the living and the dead.”

I don’t know about you but I like watching series about law and all the exciting cases in which judges, lawyers, suspects and investigators are a part.  There is always this sense of joy and relief when a lawyer who is totally about doing everything in his clients interests help them out of unbelievable situations.  It also give me a sense of hope that something like can happen to me and there will be someone as good who will stand in my defense, that the judge will be understanding and merciful and there is hope for the future. We all know that in these stories and situations there are always two sides: the judge and the defender and they are always two different persons.  But what is amazing about a Christian confession of faith is that Jesus Christ is both the Advocate and the Judge! It is these two images of Christ (although not so evidently at the first sight) are before us today in the following words of the Creed: "And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: who … ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from where he shall come to judge the living and the dead”. That statement has very important consequences for our lives. Who wouldn’t want facing the judgment that the judge happened to be also his or her defender?

If we think about it we’ll notice that Christians talk a lot about Jesus dying for our sins and rising from the dead for our salvation but they barely think about the ascension of Christ, although the New Testament talks a lot about it and its meaning for our lives. In Luke we read today how after His resurrection Jesus in the sight of His disciples was taken up to heaven and the disciples worships Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. But it makes no sense. What were they rejoicing about? Jesus is no longer with them!  Yet doesn’t every one of us dream about being with Jesus face to face for at least a little bit, like they had a chance to be with Him? Don’t we all feel that if that happened it would strengthen our faith so much and we would be so encouraged that we’d live our lives faithfully to God? The Scripture clarifies that joy and why Jesus didn’t only warn people that soon He will leave them but also said: "It is better for you that I go away” (Jn. 16:7). 

First of all, Jesus ascension to the Father was the sign that the days of His suffering were over, He won the victory and now can be seated at the right hand of the Father in the glory that belonged to Him. Remember when Jesus was on the cross some were mocking Him saying: "save yourself, get of that cross!” (Mk. 15:30).  For the sake of our salvation He didn’t save Himself although He could. But when Jesus went to be with the Father the moment has come when the One who appeared to have been trampled and destroyed by the power of evil was vindicated by God and vested with heavenly glory. Peter says: "who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” (1 Pet. 3:22). He is the One who is worthy of all the glory, worship and praise and He makes the life of faith full of confidence, power and greatness. In Acts 7 we read a story about Stephan who was being put to death for preaching Christ. A few moments before death "Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look,” he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55–56). Christ who was vindicated by God the Father in the face of His scoffers, accusers and those who wanted Him dead has now become a Defender of all His followers who are accused and persecuted for their faith in Him.  Having ascended to the Father and having been seated at His right hand in glory Jesus became our Defender!

John says that Jesus Christ, the Righteous one is also our advocate before the Father. (1 Jn. 2:1). Imagine what it means for our everyday lives? Scriptures say that sitting at the right hand of God Jesus intercedes for us.  Having experience all the suffering and knowing completely what each one of us might be going through, He prays for us with great love. When I am going through a hard time, when I am being crushed by life He is praying for me. When my faith is weak and temptation seems to have an upper hand Jesus is praying for me. When I need to pray for someone but can’t even find the words and feel like my prayer is in vain, Jesus takes my feeble prayer and brings it before the Father. He continues to intercede for us and saves us to the end.

You know what boggles my mind when I think about Christ as my Advocate? That He is the only advocate who does not just build the best line of defense but completely takes the punishment for my sin upon Himself making me free to go. That’s His line of defense and my justification.  Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ who has ascended into heaven, was vindicated by God the Father and gives me daily help, justification and confidence that I can now face God and start a new life.

But that is not yet the end of the story.  Christian story has a beginning, the middle and the end. The beginning is Christ coming to this world to suffer and die for us but rise again; the middle is Him ascending to the Father in glory and becoming our Advocate before the Father and the end will be when according to Scriptures He will come back again to make all things right.  We live in the times between the middle and the end, between the ascension and His coming again. Christians live by faith in the coming of Christ for the Bible proclaims it time and again while it also says that this time He will come as the Judge of all the people who ever lived, "to judge the living and the dead”. In the last decades the theme of the "second coming” as well as of the "end of the world” (note that these are not Biblical expressions) became very popular and not only among the believers.  Countless numbers of books and movies were made about these things. But most of them unfortunately present views, which are very far from anything Biblical (while claiming to be so).

People have lots of mistaken beliefs about the "coming” of Christ. When Paul talks about the return of Christ He uses the Greek word "parusia” which could be translated as "coming” but more literally it means "presence” which is the opposite of "absence”. In the times of Jesus this word was used to talk about the arrival of a royal person to their subordinate domains but also an appearance of a deity that is often manifested in the power of healing or in a supernaturally given help. That is why Paul talking about the ‘second coming’ on many occasions uses a different word – "to appear” (1 Thes. 4:15). Jesus is already the Lord of all and rules over everything although He is visibly absent but the day is coming when He will appear in this world and will begin ruling directly and this direct presence will change everything! Think how a direct presence of the president or a prime minister in our country changes situations.  Nothing changed for years until the president arrived into some town. And all of a sudden the director of a factory is put back into place, workers are paid their salaries for the last two years, justice seems to happen! President was also ruling over that town before but when he came personally things began to change. And if a direct presence of a simple human president makes such a difference, just imagine a direct presence of the Lord who is coming to establish His ultimate Rule. Paul says: "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality”. (1 Cor. 15:51-53).

It is also important to understand when we read what Paul and other New Testament authors are saying about Christ’s return that they are using metaphors to explain the essence of what will happen when Christ appears and not describing future events literally. For example, when Paul talks about Christ’s return in 1 Thessalonians 5 he talks about a thief in the night, birth pains and that one shouldn’t be drunk but sober and vested in the armor of faith. Obviously "don’t try to repeat that at home” as they say. J So, any expressions that Christians use to describe the future are nothing but the signs that guide us through the fog.  Signs don’t have photos of the places that they are pointing to but that doesn’t mean that they are not pointing us in the right direction. New Testament is not trying for us to imagine the return of Christ like that of "an astronaut coming down back to earth” but tries to say that everything will change because of His coming.  Everything and everyone will be put in its proper place!

Christians always believed that the day is coming when God the Creator will completely sort everything out in this world by His righteous judgment. In our modern world the word "judgment” acquired a negative meaning although in the Bible the coming judgment of God also has a positive characteristic, is something good, an object of hope and anticipation.  Have you noticed that when we read the Psalm 97 today thinking about the coming judgment of God "the trees are clapping their hands, the rivers are rejoicing and the people are shouting for joy” (Ps. 96:3,7)?  For people who no longer believe in the righteous judgment or in the love of God, for those who don’t acknowledge God and continue living in their sin, the judgment of God can only mean a bad thing and cause fear. But for a person who trusted their life to Christ in the world full of injustice, cruelty, violence, pride and oppression, the thought of a day when all the evil ones will be put in their place while the poor and the helpless will receive treatment due to them, a message of the judgment is a beautiful dream!

The Old Testament says that God’s call for the Messiah was to return the whole world including Israel to justice, peace and truth that both God and we ourselves desire. Peter reminds us: "But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13). That’s what will come about when Christ, the true Lord of everything, appears and His rule will become obvious for everyone, even those who are now living denying or ignoring Him! Christ is already the Lord but at this time He is present in this world invisibly and those who believe in Him have fellowship with Him through the Word, the Lord’s Supper, the Spirit, they meet Him in the eyes of those who need our help. But a day is coming when those who knew Him and loved Him here in this world will have a personal encounter with the visible Christ, just like it can be when one has only talked to a friend through letters or Skype but now can meet him face to face. But for those who lived as if there is not God, no Christ, as if they are the masters of their own lives, as if nothing is out of bounds, as if the world rotates around them and exists for them only and for their own desires – I doubt it will be a joyful encounter.

One master was preparing to go on a trip and no one new where he was going.  His servants whispered among themselves and wondered if he is going somewhere to find a wife or going to another country for business.  One thing was clear – he is not coming back soon for he made arrangements for harvest seasons which means he will be gone the whole summer. In the beginning of the spring servants watched their master as he rode away in a distance.  They didn’t know what to think. Their master was a kind and just man, people respected him but he was pretty demanding when it came to their responsibilities, he wanted them to work well. That’s why many of them decided to relax when he left.  The manager was one of them and he didn’t care how the work will be done. There was only one servant who could barely stop himself from crying as his master went away.  His name was Fidelis.  Since birth he was a slave of one of the violent landlord, worked from morning to late night but never got enough to eat and got flogged more often than received bread. One day her new master saw his scarred back and suffering. When he looked into Fidelis’ eyes he was nearly in tears. That same day that master decided to buy Fidelis out, helped him to get upon his horse and took to his house.  Fidelis loved his new merciful master and always tried to work in such a way that the master would be pleased.  His work was now bringing him joy.

And even now when the master left, Fidelis wanted to work in such a way that when the master will come back he would find a clean house and his watch dogs well fed… so he began working.  Other servants laughed at him: "do you think our master will return today?” The time flew. Servants harvested hurry-scurry, sheered sheep in the same manner, made wine with the grapes.  Fidelis often went out to look at the road to meet the master knowing: he will come! He was no longer friends with other servants because they were always fighting and were always unhappy about everything.  No one had seen the manager for a while and the rumor had it that he moved into the master’s house and started drinking a lot.

In the fall when the trees turned yellow another rumor spread: that the master is not coming back because he was killed by the robbers and he was travelling. And the drinking spree began.  People worked when they felt like. Only Fidelis remembered the master and worked hard.  One day the manager made a feast and invited everyone in the biggest room. Fidelis thought that the feast was to welcome their master back but it turned out that the manager decided to make a feast for himself proclaiming himself their new master. Drinking began, laughter and noise… No one noticed when Fidelis slipped out of the room. He felt like an orphan, what is he to do now? And suddenly he heard the familiar steps and saw his master.  Fidelis was so emotional that he couldn’t say a word. But the master looking into his eyes knew that something was wrong in the house. "Didn’t anybody else come out to meet me?” he asked. "What’s with the noise in the house? Where is everybody?” "They are celebrating”, said Fidelis and began crying, "they think you are dead”. The master asked, "and why are you not there? It sounds like a lot of fun in there!” "You’ve paid a great price for me. You saved me and let me serve you. I want to be your servant always, to belong to you!” The master patted him on his head and said: "You are no longer my servant, you are my son, let’s go home now”.

In the beginning I said that Jesus Christ is both the Advocate and the Judge. Sometimes believers think that if they are justified by faith in Christ they can live according to the moral code like "if you are justified, you can do pretty much anything” or they live with a romantic notion that our external actions really don’t matter as long as you keep yourself spiritually well. But the Scriptures say that we all will face the judgment of God the goal of which is to set this world, this creation right, to renew and transform it by cleansing it from any sin, corruption and death. And he is already doing that here and now, day after day transforming us into His image. The people who believe that Jesus is already the Lord over all and that He is coming again as the Judge of this world, are called to think and act differently then others.  Peter says: "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him” (2 Pet. 3:14), and Paul supports him: "in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:… keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:1, 5). And can someone who was actually redeemed by the blood of Christ, expect His return in any other way?

Sometimes we think that the evil has overtaken the world and people forgot that Jesus promised to come back, which can be a cause for discouragement in a Christian life. But Christians are to live in a way as to be ready to meet Christ today and to do it patiently as if He was not to come back for another thousand years.  Let us be thankful today for His promised return which will transform this world completely, for the joy that awaits His people when He will appear and let us live with God’s help in a way that we will always be ready to meet Him at any time and it guides our thoughts as we testify with our lives about Jesus Christ.