Luke 21:25 "There will
be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish
and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming
on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud
with power and great glory. 28
When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because
your redemption is drawing near." 29
He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can
see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the
kingdom of God is near. 32
"Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all
these things have happened. 33
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 34 "Be careful, or your hearts
will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life,
and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole
earth. 36 Be always on the
watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and
that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
This Sunday's Gospel
reading is taken from the "apocalyptic" section of Luke's Gospel.
Within the narrative, the setting is holy week. Jesus is in the temple
precincts; he will soon be arrested, beaten, judged and crucified. His last
meaningful public discourses are concerned with prophecies about the end of the
2nd Temple era (soon to come about) and end-times predictions. Study of the
passage at hand could therefore concern itself with Holy Week matters, or
broader end-times studies, but the fact that this Sunday is the first Sunday of
Advent allows for yet another approach to this passage.
The collect of the day
for this Sunday states: Stir up your
power, Lord Christ, and come. By your merciful protection alert us to the
threatening dangers of our sins, and redeem us for your life of justice; for
you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
forever. Amen.
I mention the collect
along with the Gospel reading because it strikes me that, at least among
Christians I've encountered, 2 strange notions have taken root regarding the
2nd coming of Christ. Strange notion #1 is that belief in a physical, bodily
return of Jesus really isn't necessary; that it was perhaps something those
pre-scientific Christians believed in centuries ago, but isn't necessary now;
it's all "metaphor." It was their way of speaking about what a better
world we could make if the 'spirit of Christ' came upon all of humanity, etc.
etc.
Of course it's true
that God's work in the world could and would go forward in remarkable ways if
more of the world's population were practicing Christians, but that's somewhat
beside the point when it comes to the biblical (and creedal) statements about
the actual return of Jesus. Whether
they have grown weary of 'waiting'... and have thus ceased to believe in a
literal return; or whether such an event seems just too 'fantastic' for their
belief system, some Christians have adopted this notion that it won't really
happen after all.
Strange notion #2 is
that this event, in reality, would be horribly disappointing; something one
would hope to avoid or delay if at all possible. It's seen, almost, in terms of
the end of a 'good thing,' and the ushering in of something that cannot
possibly compare. The image that comes to my mind when I sense this sentiment
expressed is that of the "Risky Business" teenager whose parents have
gone away for a week and left him home alone. While the parents are gone the
teen can drink, smoke, party with his friends, play his music loud, stay up all
night, and generally ENJOY all that unsupervised life has to offer. Carpe
diem!! But if/when Jesus returns, the 'parental figure' will be here... and all
of the good times will come to an end; no more fun; no more zestful living. The
ushering in of eternity may set things to rights, but in the process it will
remove MUCH of what we seemingly live for. It's not at all uncommon to
encounter faithful Christians who believe in the 2nd coming of Jesus, but hope
that it doesn't happen until they've lived a "full life."
This is a strange
notion given that whenever the bible talks of the 2nd coming, it does so from
the perspective that THIS is the greatest, most longed-for event the believer
could possibly imagine. It is the answer to all of his/her prayers; it is,
finally, the beginning of life that
can be lived to its fullest; and yes, it is the setting of all things RIGHT.
A variety of themes are
operative during Advent. HOPE... in a world that sometimes seems hopeless;
expectation, anticipation, and a longing desire to see the ultimate triumph of
goodness over evil.
We've all known of
situations where a friend or relative has undergone multiple surgeries to
correct a problem; each doctor taking his/her turn to have a whack at the
situation... but in the end, the person is no better off. Good intentions and
best efforts are nice, but in the end they cannot solve every problem. This is
our broader human story as well. Some don't care, and some are incapable of
making a difference; others have good intentions and noble efforts, but it's
never enough. But part of what it means to be a Christian--and its especially
appropriate to emphasize at this time of year--is to firmly believe that when
Jesus returns it will be better (in all ways) than it is now. Luke's
gospel says: When these things begin to
take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing
near. This is the language of RELIEF; the language of FREEDOM; the language
of VICTORY.
Aren't you tired of endless
wars and violence? Aren't you tired of innocent people suffering? Aren't you
tired of seeing your loved ones grow old and die? Aren't you tired of
scratching to make ends meet? Aren't you tired of circumstances always seeming
to conspire against you? Aren't you tired of existing in a '1 step forward 2
steps back' world? Aren't you tired of not being able to make a difference? The
message of Advent is that there IS SOMETHING BETTER TO HOPE FOR; and while we
do our best in the here and now, we can eagerly look forward to that day when
we can stand up, and lift up our heads,
because our redemption is drawing near.
Cheers,
TM
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