Thanks to Will Willimon, an unwitting and innocent accomplice, to the language and direction of much of this sermon.

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 

Several weeks ago Megan saw a rabbit in the sky. Don’t worry; we didn’t give her too much cough medicine. The rabbit in the sky was a cloud formation that actually looked like a rabbit to her. Do you remember gazing up into the sky and bringing clouds to life with your imagination? The shifting, billowy shapes would take a form and you would speak it into existence—“look! A rabbit.” 

In the book of First Kings, a single cloud serves as a sign of blessing. There had not been any rain on the land in over a year. This was a judgment from God on the idolatry and wickedness of the people. Elijah then confronts and defeats the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. After these false prophets are slain, Elijah tells the evil King Ahab to prepare for a deluge of rain. And a cloud as small as a man’s hand forms in the distance, which then grew into a blackening sky that brought rain on the parched land. This cloud served as a sign of God’s blessing. 

But clouds are not always promising. They can bring violence and destruction. We know this well. We live in Oklahoma, after all, smack dab in the middle of tornado alley, home of the ever threatening funnel cloud. 

There are other clouds of destruction as well. At 8:15 in the morning on August 6, 1945, an eyewitness looked up into a Japanese sky and said, “The sky was serene, the air was flooded with glittering morning light…. The sirens and also the radio had just given the all-clear…. A blinding flash cut sharply across the sky…. I raised my head, facing the center of Hiroshima…. There I saw an enormous mass of clouds… it took the shape of… a monstrous mushroom” (Lifton, Death in Life, 18-19). 

 Jesus speaks to us this morning of particular cloud that will come on the day when the “powers of heaven will be shaken.”  This particular cloud will bear the Son of Man with “power and great glory.” Will this cloud bear God’s blessing? Will this cloud restore life on a parched land? Or will this cloud be a dark, threatening funnel cloud of death and destruction? 

What type of cloud does the future hold? There are those who are pessimistic. They look at the signs of the times and predict doom. The mass murder shooting in Omaha, war and violence, rampant human wickedness, a tenuous economic situation, dissolving morality, and a banal pop culture give good reason for pessimism. And yet there are those who remain optimistic.  Technology holds great promise for many. Bill Gates and Microsoft and Mac offer a quasi-religious hope for transformed lives. Medical researchers strive to overcome disease and increase quality of life. At least in this country, we are mostly wealthy and comfortable. We have untold freedom and liberty to do whatever we want to do. Of course, we all know, or should know, that our unbounded freedom, medical research, and technological dreams have their downside in the hands of sinners. We only need to read the paper or look around us. So what does the future hold? How can we know what the future will bring? 

Our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to listen to Him. Jesus is the one who entered into this fallen creation with us and for us. Jesus is the Son of God, in the flesh. He endured death for us. He suffered for our sins. He rose for our justification and salvation. And He will come again in a cloud with power and glory. All history—past, present, and future—belongs to Jesus. So we listen to Him. The heavens and the earth, with all its murder, violence, immorality, wickedness, anxiety, fear, empty promises, banalities, technology, and wealth, will pass away. But His words will not pass away. So we listen to what Jesus has to tell us about the future. 

Our Lord promises a future Advent marked by a cloud. He came once in humility and weakness. He promises that He will come again, in the future, to bring judgment and salvation. For the wicked and unrighteous, this cloud will be a dark, threatening funnel cloud. For those who have rejected God’s Son, this cloud will bring greater destruction than the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima. The prophet Malachi tells us “the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” This is the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it is a threatening day for those who are still in their sins. It is an ominous day for those who are secure in their own righteousness. It is a dreadful day for those who are proud and haughty before the Lord, rejecting the gift of His Son. When that day arrives, there will be a storm cloud that gathers to bring untold destruction.

And yet there is no reason for you to be afraid. You know the almighty Son of Man, Jesus Christ our Lord, who will come on this cloud, is the same Suffering Servant that died for your sins. He has blessed you eternally by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the tomb. He has blessed you by washing and sanctifying you in the waters of Baptism with words that will never pass away. He even blesses you this day with His promise of eternity. He speaks His absolution on your sins, with words that will never pass away. He feeds you His body and blood for your forgiveness by the power of words that will never pass away. Thus, you belong to Jesus, whether in the past, present, or future. You know the one who holds the future and you are His. Therefore, your future belongs to Him. So when He rides on the cloud on the last day, it will be a sign of untold blessing for you who are in Christ Jesus. The cloud will bring a deluge of God’s abundant grace and mercy being poured out onto the parched, arid land of your sin and death. The cloud will bring redemption and eternal life for you. 

This is your future and yet you do not know what the future holds. You do not know what some of the clouds on the horizon mean for you. Tomorrow is obscure and ambiguous. It may bring earthly blessings and comfort. Or it may bring hardship and suffering and illness. All you really know about the future is that there are few guarantees. There will be storms in this life, struggles with sin, and eventually death. These storms are real and painful and they will come, although you do not know in what shape or form the clouds will gather. So watch yourselves. Do not be weighed down or distracted with the care and anxieties of this life. Do not remain in your sin that destroys you. Do not remain aloof from Christ and His word. Otherwise, the future will come on you like a trap and you will not be prepared. You will be left perplexed and fearful. Advent is a time to repent, to return to Christ, the one that holds the victory over your future, both now and into eternity. Christ is the only one who can provide the true and certain hope for you to live through the storms of this life with endurance and encouragement, knowing that by His grace He will sustain you and deliver you in the end. 

In Jesus, you have confidence that all things will end well. In Jesus, you can endure even the most difficult storms of this life. Your confidence does not come from knowing what tomorrow might bring, but it comes in the sure knowledge that Jesus Christ does not give up on you. No heinous sin you have committed is beyond His grace. Jesus knows everything about you and is not deceived by your piety or lack thereof. And, knowing all this, Jesus still pursues you with His grace so that when you die or when He comes on the cloud, your redemption and salvation will be secured.  This is your future. Jesus holds you and your future in His grace. And your future is opened up for you today as you gather at His altar and He speaks sure and certain words to you that your sins are forgiven and the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to you know and into eternity by His grace to you. So lift up your heads to Christ as your redemption draws near.  May the God of hope fill you with all  joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. XINJX