"Until
Christ Returns"
a condensed version of the
sermon delivered by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday, Maundy Thursday, March 20, 2008 at Union Congregational Church, United Church of
Christ, in Somonauk, Illinois.
PODCAST of "Until Christ Returns"
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On the night Jesus was betrayed, he took bread. After giving thanks he broke the bread, gave it to his disciples and said, "Take this all of you and eat it. This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way after the supper he took the cup of wine and gave thanks. And then he gave it to them and said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
The Apostle Paul tells us that as often as we eat of the bread and drink of the cup we proclaim his death and resurrection until Christ returns.
Opening Prayer
You’ve probably heard those words countless times. "This is my body, this is my blood . . . . Do this in remembrance of me . . . we proclaim Christ’s death and resurrection . . . until he comes again. Tonight we’re remembering the night Jesus shared that last Supper with the disciples. We’re also remembering the Apostle Paul’s instructions about how long we do it – until Christ returns.
Do the words and this whole deal ever make you wonder?
Well, each part of our invitation to communion has a sermon in it. Tonight we’re gonna start at the end. Until he comes again. (Incidentally, I’ve been asked before, "What do we do after Christ returns in terms of communion?" I guess we’ll get a new set of instructions.)
The subject of Christ’s return has been hotly debated by some – and mostly ignored by others in the church. Tonight won’t answer all the debate questions – but I hope it does bring us to a point where the words "until he comes again" become words of purpose instead of something we just hear while we’re getting ready to have some bread and wine.
Way back when – the early followers of Christ expected that he was going to return very soon – as in "during their lifetime." There’s a verse in Matthew that has words the early church would have remembered. Matthew 24:34: Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
Well, that didn’t happen – why? Does "this generation" mean something different than 40-some years? There must be some explanation. Some have said that "this generation" refers to humanity’s generation. I don’t know for sure – but I believe that it meant something different from the people originally thought. God’s good at doing that.
Over the years people have predicted dates for Christ’s return. There have been hundreds of predictions covering dates like 500, 1000, 1420, 1666, 1809, 1910, 1949, 1967 and at least 30 predicting some date between 1980 and 2012.
What were they thinking? Nobody knows how things ultimately happen or when.
I do believe that no one knows when Christ will return. There is no sense in trying to predict it. But let’s talk a bit about what "it" is.
Some call the return of Christ the "Rapture" – when Christ will return and believers will be swept up with him in the clouds. There are passages in the Bible that can be interpreted as such.
Matthew 24: 40-41 -- Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left.
Another is 1 Thessalonians 4:16 -17 16For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.
Rapture means "caught up." It refers to believers being caught up with Jesus in the clouds.
That would be a pretty cool sight, eh? Seeing all these people flying up to the clouds?
Well, it might not be so cool if you were watching it from the ground.
I really don’t know exactly how the whole "being caught up in the clouds things will play out. Although I do believe that it will probably be different than the people tend to think. God’s good at doing that. After all, the people expected a strong and powerful King to come. Instead God showed power in the weakness of humble beginnings and Jesus’ death on the cross.
Christ’s return will be, I think, dramatic and unforgettable. It might be that way from an immediate perspective and perhaps only from an historical perspective – I don’t really know for sure.
I seem to be saying that a whole lot tonight – don’t I? I say that a lot.
I say it tonight because when it comes to the return of Jesus, rapture, tribulation, the millennium, new heaven and new earth I don’t think that we really understand what is truly coming and how exactly it is going to play out.
Wait a minute – tribulation. The millennium, new heaven and new earth – you just threw those terms in there like we all ready knew them. What are those?
Those are more subjects I’m not exactly sure of. I do believe that God has things all in hand and I also believe that the way they play out will be different than people tend to think. God’s good at doing that.
So in a very unsatisfying way we’ve talked about "when" and "what" regarding Christ’s return.
But what about the part about us proclaiming Christ’s death and resurrection until he comes back? What is it we are really supposed to do about his return since we really don’t know what it is going to be like?
Now we get to something really important:
Matthew 24:42: Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
How do you keep awake or something you don’t understand?
How do you be ready for something you may never see?
We don’t know when Christ will return.
We don’t really know how Christ will return
But we do know the one that we can turn to to be ready.
Paul’s instructions to continue sharing communion until Jesus returns and the other passages from the Bible I’ve brought up tonight, I believe, are not intended for us to make calendars and to stockpile food and to use scare tactics to get people to follow Christ.
They are, as other scriptures are, about putting our belief, our trust, our worries, our happiness, our sadness, our life into God’s hands. When we remember Jesus death and resurrection in communion, we also can be at peace in trusting that God has made and is making and will make us ready for what has been, what is and what is to come.
We just have to let God be our guide. We need to let God be the one who leads us. We need to know that God is the one who has the plan that is better than any plan we can come up with. We need to let go of what it is that keeps us running our lives and trust that in the messiness and danger and uneasiness of Jesus there is hope and love and an extraordinary adventure.
When will Christ come back? I haven’t a clue
What will it be like? I don’t know.
What does it have to do with the last supper? We think about Jesus’ return every time we celebrate his death and resurrection.
How can we be ready for what’s happening next?
Put our trust and our hope and our life in God’s hands
On the night Jesus was betrayed, he took bread. After giving thanks he broke the bread, gave it to his disciples and said, "Take this all of you and eat it. This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way after the supper he took the cup of wine and gave thanks. And then he gave it to them and said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
The Apostle Paul tells us that as often as we eat of the bread and drink of the cup we proclaim his death and resurrection until Christ returns.
Close with Prayer.
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