Grace, peace, and mercy are yours from
the Triune God. Amen.
Wow, it’s December 1st.
I don’t know about you, but it feels like the last couple of months have just
flown by! Of course, most of November was a blur for me, but it feels strange
to come out of a month off and jump right into Advent. Usually there’s a time
of build up as the season of Pentecost comes to a close, culminating in Christ the
King Sunday. So, this week felt weird for me, heading into Advent with no lead
up.
Speaking of December, by
show of hands, who has started decorating their house? Doing Christmas baking?
Has anyone started their Christmas shopping? Who’s already done it all and are
just waiting eagerly for Christmas to arrive? The signs of Christmas are all
around us, whether or not we’re prepared for them. As it says in the song,
“It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
everywhere you go!”
And here we are today in
the first week of Advent, the start of the waiting period for the coming of the
baby Jesus. Seems like the perfect time to talk about the end of the world,
right?
Luke sure gives us a
doozy of a piece of scripture to kick off this year’s Advent season. He starts us
off with an apocalyptic prediction that takes us back to the book of Daniel,
chapter 7:
“As I
watched in the night visions,
I saw one like a human being
coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion
and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
that shall never be destroyed.” (13-14)
The Greek apocalypsis
means “revelation.” As a literary genre, an apocalypse presents revelations
about the future. Daniel is predicting the arrival of a Messiah, an anointed
one, who would act as an agent of God to bring salvation to the chosen people.
It was expected that the Messiah would be a new king, a son of David. It is
that “new king” that Daniel is predicting here.
Luke refers back to Daniel’s
apocalyptic writing most obviously in verse 27 when he states that the “Son of
Man coming in a cloud” will come with power and glory. He says that there will
be signs all around that the Son of Man has arrived. Now who do we know that has
been going around town performing signs? Jesus has spent his time trying to
show people that the kingdom of God has arrived and is standing in front of
them. But because he isn’t this great king like David who comes to slay their
enemy, people don’t believe him, and they don’t believe the signs that are
right there in front of them.
And so as is his way
when people are doubting, Jesus tells a parable. It’s not as powerful as say
the story of the Samaritan woman or the prodigal son. The parable of the fig
tree is short and doesn’t seem to have an obvious lesson to it, but there’s
still a strong point made within the story. If people can read the signs of the
nature, then they should be willing to read the signs of their salvation. The
new buds on the trees are sure signs that summer is near. The first few
snowflakes falling from the sky are signs that winter is coming.
Jesus has been showing
signs that God is present on earth and his signs have been good – water to
wine, healing people, the sharing of abundant food. But the signs that Jesus
speaks of this morning sound a lot more destructive that sprouting buds and falling
snow.
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon,
and the stars
and on the earth distress among
nations
confused by the roaring of the sea and
the waves.
People will faint from fear and
foreboding of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be
shaken.”
This is nothing like the
sweet baby Jesus that we’re waiting for, but a stern adult Jesus predicting
that the world is about to be tossed about and turned upside down. This is a
very different feeling than the signs of Christmas we see everywhere.
The first Sunday of
Advent is supposed to be based on the theme of hope. Where is the hope in today’s
text from Luke? Where is the hope in the destruction that Jesus is predicting? How
do we go from apocalypse to hope? Well, the hope is found in the waiting.
First century Christians
believed that Jesus’ return was imminent, that it was right around the corner, that
it would happen in their lifetime. They knew they were in a period of waiting
but it never occurred to them they wouldn’t see Jesus’ again. And now we’ve been
waiting 2000 years but have yet to lose hope that one day Jesus will return.
Christians are
inherently Advent people and the apocalyptic text from Luke reminds us that we
are, in fact, waiting on two Advents: the infant Jesus yet to be born and the
adult Jesus returning to the earth at some time in the future. Luke tells us
that we are living in a gap time of what was, what is, and what is to come. And
this gap period is full of fear, anxiety, and anticipation, but also hope. We
hope for redemption. We hope for healing. We hope for restoration. Hope can be
found in the knowledge that from destruction can rise something new and
beautiful.
At the end of the
passage from Luke, Jesus tells us to “be on guard” and to “be alert at all
times”. We have no idea when Jesus will return. Every person in history who has
tried to predict the second coming has failed so it’s important that we stay
alert, remaining faithful despite the destruction and persecution that happens
around us.
Ultimately, Jesus calls
us to “stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Although today’s Lukan text seems to stand in stark contrast to the preparations
for the Christmas season we see everywhere, we can find hope in his apocalyptic
writing about a better world that could break forth at any time. Jesus’ call to
stay alert and pray for God’s kingdom to break through to our world is as
important a call today as it has ever been. War, famine, addiction, hate, and
greed are all on the rise. Our broken selves need Christ to come more than
ever.
And when he does, there
will be signs, if only we are alert enough to notice them. Signs that say Jesus
is coming, signs that say Jesus’ return is very near. And because we know that
these signs will happen, we wait with hope. Hope begins with a recognition that
the way the world is currently, is not how it should be or how it was intended
to be. Hope is knowing there is something good in the world and that it’s worth
fighting for.
And our hope calls us to
a renewed faith in God who never changes, who keeps promises, and who is with
us at all times. Our hope assures us that no matter what happens while we wait,
nothing will be able to separate us from God’s love for us in Jesus. So let us
wait in hope for the two Advents: the baby Jesus to be born and the adult Jesus
to come again. And in this hope, together let us say, Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment