“Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at the your presence - as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil - to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!” That’s a great prayer to kick off the season of Advent, don’t you think? Lord, tear open the heavens and come on down. We need you here. Or as the collect for Advent 1 prayers, “Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come.” We need you more than ever down here, Lord, so come on down.

A triptych is a panel with three pictures, usually around some related theme. That’s what we’ve had these past three weeks - a triptych of parables. The first was the parable of the bridesmaids, wise and foolish. The faithful were prepared, the foolish figured they had time and oil to spare. The second was the parable of the servants and their talents on loan. Two were wise, doing business with the talents on loan from their master; one was foolish, burying his talent out of fear and in the end loosing everything. Today is parable number three: the sheep and the goats and the Shepherd-King who sorts them.

Fear is one of our greatest paralyzers. Fear of failure. Fear of punishment. Fear of criticism. Fear of condemnation. It can start with a harsh word from a parent; a discouraging criticism from a teacher; a hard and demanding boss. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” goes the saying, and yet working under a shroud of fear, nothing ventured actually seems like a pretty safe bet. It did to the cautious servant in our Lord’s parable for today - the parable of talents.

“Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Mt 25:13)

We are in the final Sundays of the church year. Today is the third-last. The focus of these three last Sundays is on the end, the last day, the Day of the Lord. Just as there was a beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, there is also an end of this creation and the rising up of a new creation out of the death of the old. Just as there is a death, so there is an end to all things.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” (Revelation 14:13)

There are nine beatitudes (blesseds) in the Sermon on the Mount that you heard in this morning’s Gospel reading. And there are similarly nine beatitudes in the Revelation, of which the ones I just read are numbers 3 and 4. I’m not sure what that means, but I find it interesting and noteworthy nonetheless. Nine - a triple three of divine blessing. There are no numerical accidents in the Scriptures.

What is surprising though, is who are called “blessed” - the dead. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth.” They correspond to the spiritually poor, mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting of righteousness, merciful, pure hearted peacemaking, persecuted disciples. These are dead to the world and dead to themselves. In the Revelation, the blessed are the literally dead as a doornail dead. And that might take us by surprise.