READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE:
Exodus 32:1-20
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
- St. Matthew 24:15-28
Who speaks to you in today’s Gospel saying:
“And if those days had not been cut short, no man would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”
The world is not to be trusted. Only the Word is worthy of faith and trust. And while the goodness faith has given us wants to find trust in this world, too, we must not be fooled. One, into a false sense of trust, and two, to not give trust when it is asked for. This is God’s Word for us today, both heavy and light. Heavy for the wrongs we will endure and light because they come to an end.
This should point us to the Promises made by God to us, which are not fraudulent and are the only sure and certain things in this life. Christ desires us to receive those Promises from His hand, Body and Blood, that we may know for certain he is true to His Word.
What is the Christian to do when facing a world of corruption, after making his vows not to be corrupt? He really has only two options, either recapitulate and become “of the world” once more, for, as the Lord says, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own;” (Jn 15:19).
The other option is to suffer this world’s unpleasantness, refuse to participate in lies and fraud, and be light in a world of darkness. As He continues, “but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you”.
What does our sin do with light? It hides it under a bushel, blows it out, sets it away with false lights to lessen its importance.
As we dwell on our Lord’s words of false christs, false prophets, and false signs, we must believe and acknowledge that these will all come through men. That we will encounter these things, not just in spirit, but in bodies, in flesh and blood. This is why Jesus speaks of actually going out into the wilderness or going in to the inner rooms. There is spiritual fraud and physical fraud, in the life of a Christian.
Fraud we know all too well. Since man was given the ability to speak, he has discovered the ability to lie. In our days we have no-call lists that don’t work, spam blockers that don’t block, and propaganda that keeps propagating.
The frauds call on your godly nature and hide some sort of truth deep in their words to confuse and subdue you. You are only strong when you disagree with their positions and values. You are weak when their values appear to align with yours. Save a tree, save a planet, do good in the world.
It is the “good” that blinds you to facts. And that apparent good is this: if you believe in it, it can’t be all bad. You extend your self-justification to those whom you see as “teammates” and they turn out to not be teammates at all. The turn-coat nature of the fraud is encouraged in phone calls, emails, TV, and online interaction.
Why? Because the fraud does not have to pay for his words. There are no consequences for him simply speaking and offering a deal to you. No laws are broken, no crime committed, and nothing can be done about it, because you agreed to it.
That’s the evil in every sin and temptation. Something wonderful is presented to you wrapped in shiny goodness and self-value, yet upon opening is anything but what you thought you would get. This is the falseness that finds you in these last days. It may not be as flashy as an “anti-Christ”, but the motives are the same. To whittle away your faith, bit by bit, until nothing remains but despair, and you agreed to it in your sin.
Before this, even Moses warned of these frauds. In Deuteronomy 13, he specifically teaches of those doing miracles and wonders in order to defraud and teach to go after other gods. The solution he gives is not cleverness on the people’s part, or anti-fraud laws, but a return to the Word of God.
A return to the Word is necessary both in Church and in your daily lives when dealing with frauds. Not because of some superior morality you find there, to conquer your foes. Or even because, like magic or holy water, it banishes the evildoer. But because a return to the Word is a return to the Body and Blood of Christ.
The fraud finds most of his plans ruined if he must show up and prove himself in his own body. This is partly because he must now pay the consequences of his words with actions. He must show up, prove his lies, and put his reputation on the line. Show me, don’t tell me.
“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). To warn us of coming things that would attempt to remove faith from us, Jesus was made man. To ultimately destroy those plans and purposes of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, He suffered, died, rose again, and gives you His Church.
In Christ, all justice is meted out, according to God’s Will. There is no justice or noble, lost cause left undone in the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The injustices done to us in this world are just shadows and ripples left in the wake of satan’s defeat. This is what little power is left to satan and his demons.
And we should learn from it. We should know its going to happen and, since we cannot even tell a real salesman from a fake, in our sin, then we should expect to fall victim to sin and temptation here.
We fraud and are defrauded in our own sin. What will keep us steadfast until the Last Day?
The fight against fraud is the same fight against sin we face everyday. Don’t take anyone’s word for anything over the phone, over email, or from a stranger. Likewise, don’t take any fraud of miracle, wonder, or “good” at face value. Judge these and all things according to the Word.
We can even give thanks for the fraud and dishonesty in the world. For one, we can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. Honestly. And two, we can use it to be reminded of God’s Promise to us for our good. He will not defraud or be dishonest with us and instead causes it to do His Will.
If you remember the story of Jacob and Laban in Genesis chapters 29-31, Laban commits fraud against Jacob. Even though Jacob’s name means deceiver, Laban is the one deceived. For 20 years Jacob was deceived, yet still worked honestly and honorably. And after that 20 years, God allowed Jacob to take the best from Laban, enacting justice in the end.
Jacob waits for a blessing from the Lord and for the Lord’s justice. And it comes to pass.
No greedy man ever escapes the vengeance of God. Indeed, they perish because of the growth and increase of their property, which is why we pray against such temptation in the Litany. For they grow only to be cursed and destroyed, not to be blessed. Therefore as often as you see a greedy man, you see a man perishing and ruined. (AE 5:373)
Our prosperity is tied up with Jesus. It may be that we live comfortably in this life. Or not. But since Christ has done all things well, and He has done all things well for us, we need neither fear nor accept the fraud of this world. Even if we think we’ll miss out on something big, we have the bigger promise of prosperity: the Kingdom of God.
Jacob is not the deceiver, neither is God deceived, Who made him. It is satan that is deceived and it is our sinful nature and death that Jesus defrauds on our behalf. They may have their way for our short lifetime, but they are ending.
Indeed, the victory has already been won. Jesus says, “Take heart, I have overcome the world”. Fraud is not God’s invention, so we don’t have to fear it is His work against us. “Goods, fame, child, and wife let these all be gone”, we sing. And we can sing because we receive a hundred-fold back to us, in the end.
The wicked have their reward now and it will be exhausted by the time the Lord returns. Those who store up treasure in heaven will have it for eternity. For our Lord takes the fraud upon Himself, which is why revenge is not an option. Forgiveness is the only option.
Fraud put God at risk, Jesus’s fraud is written, scored into His body. In Christ, God shows His strength by taking responsibility for the fraud, though it was sin and not His, and overcoming it. “Can you rob God”, He asks in Malachi 3:8-9. He continues: “Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me.”
And since this is true, then Jesus’s Church is the only real place. Do you need a noble cause to support? Then support your Church. Do you feel everything and everyone is a lie? Then support the Promises of God in Word and Sacrament. Will no future be secure, no matter how much land, time, or money you give to this or that cause? Christ is the Cause and Creator of all things and His effect is the forgiveness of your sins.
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