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Warning?
or Comfort? Advent
IC
November
29, 2009
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
The (name) family said: “Every week in Advent, we will light another candle. Each candle that we light will remind us that the Light of the World will soon come to us in human form in baby Jesus.” And you responded: The Kingdom of God is drawing near. May we prepare our hearts with God’s peace, God’s justice, and God’s love. Amen. This is a whole different “preparing” than what passes for “Christmas preparations” in our consumer-driven culture. With our mailboxes stuffed like the turkey you may have had at Thanksgiving, with pre-Christmas sales that now start, literally, in the dark of night as early as 3-5 a.m. on what is now called “Black Friday,” retailers hope and pray their businesses will be put “in the black” for the whole year by our “Christmas preparations. ”Hundreds of seasonal movies and cartoons on TV all count down to Christmas. Outdoor lights, all manner of Christmas parties, a certain man in a red suit appearing in stores and malls near you are all signs that Christmas is coming. Of course, these aren’t the signs Jesus is talking about in this morning’s gospel reading. These aren’t the signs of the coming of Christ, as much as they are signs of the coming of a great winter holiday. The way we “do” Christmas in our culture, one certainly doesn’t have to be a Christian to celebrate it. While we are hankering to plunge into singing Christmas carols on the Sundays of Advent, quietly and calmly the season of Advent calls us -- as we tell our children who are wanting to tear into their Christmas presents before it’s time to do so -- to just settle down a bit. Jesus tells us this morning to read the signs of the times; that is, to pay special attention to our spiritual life. The primary question of pre-Christmas December is, “Will you be prepared for Christmas in time?” but the primary question of Advent is, “Are you prepared for Christ to come?” This morning’s Scripture readings may strike us as a bit out-of-tune with the songs and carols of the pre-Christmas season, pointing us, as they do, not to Jesus’ first coming as a baby in Bethlehem, but to his second coming – or more accurately, his reappearing, since Jesus hasn’t gone anywhere but is with us always, even now. Jesus tells us, his followers, that we should be ready, alert, watchful. He counsels us not to be caught up in either excessive “dissipation” (which means self-indulgence) or excessive worries, but rather to remain watchful. At the same time, Christians should be eager for the events Jesus describes, as they signal the approach of our deliverance from the world broken by human sin, into the full, just, perfect reign of Christ. Interestingly, for as much as we worry about terrorism, nuclear weapons, global warming, or environmental deterioration due to our abuse of it, most of us express little day-to-day concern about the end of the world, and even less about Jesus' second appearing. For much of the world, time just proceeds steadily on in a straight line, moving day after day towards… who-knows-what. Is that, perhaps, one reason why we crave any excuse for a party, a celebration, a holiday – something to look forward to, something to fuss about, something wonderful to prepare for? But for the early Christian community who would have read Luke’s gospel, they didn’t see time that way. They took Jesus at his word, his promise that something was about to happen. As put marvelously to music in Handel’s Messiah, “The kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ has come, and he shall reign forever and ever.” They didn’t read these words of Jesus as a warning, but as a promise. They understood that Jesus had already ushered in the reign of God into this world by his victorious resurrection at his first appearing on earth; and, as time moved forward, the early Christians knew a great, though unseen, future was stirring and gathering itself, and was sweeping toward the time when Christ’s reign would burgeon forth in its fullness – and they – as well as you and I -- were a part of it! Paul and the other apostles taught clearly that Christ comes among us, not only to save our lives but to work a cosmic revolution, to transform all of creation under the reign of God. To the Christians in Ephesus, 1:9-10, Paul writes: With all wisdom
and insight God has made known to us the mystery of God’s will,
according to
God’s good pleasure set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of
time. [That
plan?] --to gather up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things
on
earth. And in to
the Romans, 8:22-23: We know that the
whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only
the
creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit,
groan
inwardly while we wait…for the redemption of our bodies. And in this morning’s Second Lesson, to the Christians in Thessalonica, (3:12-13): And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may [Jesus] so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Did you hear what Paul was saying there? Whatever rumors the Christian community may have heard about the coming end, and no matter what rumors we may hear, the Christian community is to remain steadfast in its ministry – increasing and abounding in love for one another and for all…that we might be blameless before God when Jesus reappears among us. In other words, we prepare for Christ’s reappearing by continuing in ministry, by continuing to witness to the gospel through word, deed, and prayer in any and all situations. What a strange blend of warning and
comfort. Jesus wants us to be able to see
things the way God does, and not be fooled by the powers of this world.
Jesus
wants us to take the long view so that we can see, anticipate, and
joyfully prepare
for the arrival of a world marked by God's justice and righteousness.
How do we
prepare? In the words of the prophet Micah 6:8 – The Lord has told
us what is good. What the Lord requires of us is this: to do what is
just, to
show constant love, and to walk humbly with God. There are a number of practical ways
to do this kind of preparation: 1.
Make time in the
coming weeks to look at your relationship
with Jesus. Are you walking humbly with him? Is there room in your
busy, cluttered
life for him? 2.
Cling a little
less to the worries of daily living. That
doesn’t mean become irresponsible. It means, hang on to God’s promises. 3.
And, as Martin
Luther said when asked what he would do if he
knew Christ was reappearing tomorrow: “Even
if I knew
that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my
apple tree.”
In other words, live confidently by continuing your ministry, whatever
that may
be – whether it’s caring for creation, for people, or both. What better
way could
Jesus possibly find us when he does reappear among us to bring his
reign into
its fullness, than doing what he’s called us to do! During the colonial period in
American history, an eclipse of the sun caught members of a New England
state
legislature off guard. In the midst of general panic a motion was made
to adjourn,
but one of the legislators stood up and said, "Mr. Speaker, if it is
not
the end of the world and we adjourn, we shall appear to be fools. If it
is the
end of the world, I choose to be found doing my duty. I move you, sir,
let
candles be brought." So bring on the Advent candles, as we
live in love and act in hope, preparing for our Lord’s reappearing.
Come, Lord
Jesus. Amen. Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa, Minnesota |
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