First Sunday in Advent

November 30^th, 2025
Trinity Lutheran Church
First Sunday in Advent
Sermon on [Matthew 24:36–44]

“ ³⁶“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. ³⁷For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴²Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. ”

In the Name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The word advent means the coming or arrival of an important or significant event. You have had many advents in your life; the advent of your Baptism, the advent of your first Communion, to name a few. And today, we begin the Churches Advent season, where we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

The Churches Advent season is a penitential time, where we reflex on our sins with prayer and traditional with fasting. We acknowledge that we are sinners and are in need of a Savior, because we cannot save ourselves. Advent ends on Christmas Eve with anticipation and joy as God son, Christ Jesus, is born to us through the Virgin Mary on Christmas Day. What Joy we have, that Christ has come to save us from our sins.

That joy though will turn into sorry. Soon we begin another advent season. A season that last forty days starting on Ash Wednesday and ending on the crucifix of Our Lord on Holy Thursday. Though this sorry will last a short three days. On Easter Sunday Our Lord resurrects from the grave to give us the forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life.

For the next forty days we are in another advent season until Christ ascended into heave on Ascension Day. During these forty days, Christ continues to teach and instruct the Apostles about the kingdom of God and preparing them for the mission of the Church, to go out “₁₉… and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19).

On Ascension Day, as one advent ends another one begins. One final advent that we are still in the mist of, that our Gospel reading for today talks about. Christ second coming.

Christ second Advent is going be very different that His first Advent. Unlike Christ first Advent, which we had wise men who were able to predict or notice the signs of Christ coming. Christ second coming is unpredictable, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only”.

Whoever says that they know the day of Christ second coming, or that they can predict it, is a person who has not read the Bible or does not have faith in Christ. For they want to “live it up” in sinfulness only hoping to cleanup their act at the last moment, thinking they can get away with sinning without paying the price.

It like what I was a kid. I lived on a farm on a dirt road far from town. When my parents left the house to go shopping, they would give me a list of chores to do. Thinking I could look out the windows and down the road, to see their car coming. I would do what I wanted trusting in the fact that I could see them coming down the road. Only to be caught off guard when they walk into the house, still doing what I wanted, and realize I am in big trouble because I have not done the work that my parents have given me to do.

This is what the Christ say the world will be like, when He says “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Like me as a kid, the world will is not paying attention. The world is doing want it wants, totally absorbed in their own wants and doing and will be caught off guard when Christ returns.

And what are we, the Church, to do? How are we to warn the people of the coming flood, of Christ second coming? Like Noah, who built the ark before the flood came. We are to build Christ Church. I am not talking about physical building. We are to build the Church of God by going out into the world telling the people of God’s love and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

With love and compassion, we tell them what God has done for them, and for use. We tell them of the forgiveness of our sins in Jesus Christ. We tell them that Christ took their sins to the cross and paid the price for those sins. And three days later rose from the grave to declare that our sins are forgiven and that we are now heirs to the Kingdom of God.

We must be careful not to be idle or complacent in our witnessing to the people. Christ tells us, “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

When Christ tells us to “stay awake”, He is not referring to a physical stay awake but to be spiritual awake. What does it mean to be spiritually awake? Unlike some TV shows, movies or other forms of entertainment where spiritually awake means some in-depth power to overcome the forces of evil. No, when Christ is telling us to stay awake, we are to live in a special relationship with Him knowing that we are sinner and in need of a savior, that our sins have been forgiven through Christ death and resurrection.

Christ warning is clear. If we do not stay awake, live in that special relationship with Christ, we will be caught off guard sweep away in the flood of Christ second advent.

But how can we be ready? The answer is in living our lives in the light of Christ’s return. It means being vigilant in prayer, reading the Bible, listing to the preaching of His Word, and receiving the sacraments. It means living out the Gospel in our daily lives, showing Gods love, forgiveness, and kindness to others. It means being faithful in our vocations, whether at home, at work, or in the church.

We prepare for Christ’s return by living in the way He has called us to live—loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Being prepared doesn’t mean we have to be perfect. None of us will be perfectly ready in our own strength. But it means we are daily relying on Christ, who is our righteousness. It means we are trusting in His grace, which covers our failures, and looking forward in hope to the day He will come again to make all things new.

Finally, the return of Christ is not just a warning—it is a promise. Christ will return to bring His people into the eternal joy of His presence. His second coming is the fulfillment of all the promises He made during His earthly ministry. It is the culmination of God’s plan of salvation.

When Christ returns, there will be no more sin, no more sorrow, no more pain. We will be raised in new bodies, imperishable and glorious. We will live with Him forever in the new heavens and the new earth.

This promise is our comfort and our hope as we live in the tension between Christ’s first coming and His return. We live in the already-but-not-yet reality of the Kingdom of God. Christ has come once to save us from our sins, and He will come again to bring us to Himself. So, dear friends, as we reflect on Jesus’ words today, let us heed His warning to be watchful and prepared. We do not know the day or the hour, but we know that He will come again. Therefore, we live with urgency, with faith, and with hope, looking forward to that glorious day when our Savior returns.

In the meantime, may we stay awake, live faithfully, and rest in the promises of our Lord, knowing that He who has begun a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of His return.

Amen.