The last Sunday of the church year

For literally centuries, Christian denominations and congregations have celebrated what is called the “Church Year.” Not all celebrate the yearly cycle of the Church Year, but many do. The cycle begins in late November/early December with Advent. From Advent to Christmas to Epiphany to Lent to Easter to Pentecost, the Church Year moves. It culminates in what we will celebrate this weekend – The Last Sunday of the Church Year.
The Last Sunday of the Church Year (and actually the two Sundays preceding it) is intended to give God’s people an opportunity to reflect on the very important fact that this earthly world will end someday and the Lord Jesus Christ will return for the Judgement Day. (Zephaniah 1, Matthew 24-25, 1 Thessalonians 5, and MUCH of the book of Revelation as well as many other places in Scripture indicate this truth.)
God’s Word tells us that the Judgement Day and the days leading up to it will NOT be pleasant. There will be much turmoil and unrest. It will not be an easy time. There will be wars and natural disasters and divisiveness and death.
Sounds a bit like 2020, doesn’t it? Suffice it to say, we’ve experienced all of this so far this year. As God inspired St. Paul to write to the Thessalonians, he addressed the issue of the Last Days and wrote “Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Great advice! In tough times, encouragement is needed. Hard times call for uplifting, not tearing down.
While I have certainly heard some negative talk, I have also heard some encouragement as well. I have heard people trying to stay positive and encourage others that we will get through this. The two most common statements of encouragement I have heard lately follow along these lines: “There will be a vaccine before too long” and “If my political party is in control, we will get through this.”
[Deep Sigh] With as much as I want this virus to be gone and with as much as I loathe and despise the divisiveness in our country, the “words of encouragement” I hear are not truly “words of encouragement.” Will it be great to be over and done with all of what we are going through this year? Absolutely! But every generation has had tough times. We live in a sinful, fallen world. That is not going to change.

Almost two thousand years ago, God inspired Paul to reflect on the Last Days and write “Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up.” The key word in this statement is actually “Therefore”. It could also be read as “because of what I just told you, encourage one another…” So the basis for encouragement rests in what precedes the call to encourage.
1 Thessalonians 5:9f – “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore, encourage on another…”
We are called to encourage and build each other up not with what we think will “fix” our current situation, but with God’s Love for us in Christ Jesus! We should be encouraging one another by reflecting on and recounting to each other what Jesus has done for us.
Adam and Eve brought sin into the world and destroyed God’s perfection. We continue to live in and contribute to the sinful fallenness of the world. But God put into motion the Perfect Solution. The Perfect Solution began with a promise (Gen 3:15), it peaked with God taking human flesh and living perfectly and dying and rising for you and for me (Jesus’ Life, Death, and Resurrection!), and this Perfect Solution will find its completion when Christ returns.
These are our words of encouragement! We encourage one another by reminding each other that God has and is and will take care of everything in Christ Jesus. All other words of encouragement fall short. They are all temporary. Only Christ, Only God’s love in Jesus Christ, can offer true comfort and encouragement.
And this is why we celebrate “The Last Sunday of the Church Year.” We take the time to remind ourselves that all of this is temporary. We encourage each other that the One Who Hung on the Cross and Rose from the Dead is returning so that we can be with Him eternally. As God’s Children we have the Greatest Encouragement – Jesus is coming again to take us home with Him.
Rev. Rod A. Benkendorf works for the mission organization Lutheran Heritage Foundation. He can be contacted at revbenkendorf@gmail.com.