Last Sunday of the Church Year (Three Year Lectionary—Series B) (Proper 29B)

Isaiah 51:4–6 or Daniel 7:9–10, 13–14
Psalm 93
Jude 20–25 or Revelation 1:4b–8
Mark 13:24–37 or John 18:33–37

In Repentance We Are Alert to the Coming of Christ

The signs of the end are all around us, constant reminders that “heaven and earth will pass away.” But all of these signs are centered in the cross of Christ, whereby He has conquered sin and death, that we might be raised with Him in righteousness through His Word of the Gospel, which “will not pass away” (Mark 13:31). He is “the firstborn of the dead,” who in His great love “has freed us from our sins by his blood” (Rev. 1:5). His salvation is certain because “his dominion is an everlasting dominion” and His Kingdom “shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:14). For this purpose He came into the world, to reign in love through His voice of the Gospel, which is the truth (John 18:37). So is the righteousness of Christ “a light to the peoples,” which “will never be dismayed” because it is the justice of His cross and resurrection (Is. 51:4–6). As He “is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory,” so wait upon “the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 20–24).