Advent 1- What if he came back today?
Today we are starting a new year in the church’s calendar. The Church year always begins with Advent. Advent is a season that brings a certain level of tension. In large part this is because our society seems to have largely given up on seasons of fasting (unless it’s for health reasons). Advent has traditionally been like Lent. It is a time of spiritual preparation. The traditional themes for reflection in Advent are the four last things: death, judgment, hell, and heaven. Which are pretty intense themes. I don’t see a lot of those images around this time of year. … So, our society is ready for Christmas, but the church is in Advent, and instead of hearing heart-warming stories about the baby Jesus or pregnant Mary on her way to Bethlehem, we hear readings calling us to repentance, and warning us to prepare for a coming judgement.
Our Gospel reading comes immediately after a section talking about the destruction of Jerusalem, and so this section is likely also connected to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, which happened 40 or so years after Jesus was resurrected.
The language is very symbolic, and so we shouldn’t necessarily be thinking about actual sun, moon, and stars. Ancient peoples often associated these celestial bodies with angels or other spiritual beings. In scripture, angels are often associated with the stars. So, in Job 38:7 we read,
"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy."
‘Sons of God’ is sometimes translated as ‘heavenly beings’ or ‘angels’. We see another example in the book of Revelation, where we read about “seven stars” who are the angels of the seven churches (1:20). And later, we read about the dragon swiping his tail and drawing down a third of the stars. This is usually seen as the fall of a third of the angels (12:4). … The celestial bodies were viewed as having a reflection on earth because of the powers that were often associated with these heavenly bodies. So, we should probably read this with these ideas in mind, rather than looking for astrological signs.
Likewise, the sea was often a symbol of unpredictable chaos. Think about the 2004 Tsunami and how it suddenly killed nearly 228,000 people. During a tsunami, the waters rise in unpredictable ways and cause massive destruction, but you can’t see it coming.
So, all of this may have been speaking about the marching of the Roman legions into Jerusalem and destroying the city and the Temple. It would have torn the heart out of Judaism. We sometimes think that the Judaism we know in the modern world was the same kind of Judaism that Jesus knew. That is very much not the case. Jerusalem and the Temple were the heart of Judaism. That was where the festivals took place. It was the only place where sacrifices to deal with the sins of the people were allowed. It was, for many people, the house of God. So, its destruction sent Judaism into an identity crisis. Which is what happened the first time it was destroyed by Babylon.
Many of the early Christians saw this destruction as judgement on the leadership for the rejection of God’s son, and it would have been easy to think that this is now the second coming of Christ, which was not the case, obviously.
Christians have also seen readings like this pointing into the future to the time when Christ will come again, which is why we have the reading today as we begin Advent.
During Advent we allow ourselves to yearn for the coming messiah. So, we mirror the yearning we read in the Old Testament. We yearn with Jeremiah who prophesied,
Likewise, the sea was often a symbol of unpredictable chaos. Think about the 2004 Tsunami and how it suddenly killed nearly 228,000 people. During a tsunami, the waters rise in unpredictable ways and cause massive destruction, but you can’t see it coming.
So, all of this may have been speaking about the marching of the Roman legions into Jerusalem and destroying the city and the Temple. It would have torn the heart out of Judaism. We sometimes think that the Judaism we know in the modern world was the same kind of Judaism that Jesus knew. That is very much not the case. Jerusalem and the Temple were the heart of Judaism. That was where the festivals took place. It was the only place where sacrifices to deal with the sins of the people were allowed. It was, for many people, the house of God. So, its destruction sent Judaism into an identity crisis. Which is what happened the first time it was destroyed by Babylon.
Many of the early Christians saw this destruction as judgement on the leadership for the rejection of God’s son, and it would have been easy to think that this is now the second coming of Christ, which was not the case, obviously.
Christians have also seen readings like this pointing into the future to the time when Christ will come again, which is why we have the reading today as we begin Advent.
During Advent we allow ourselves to yearn for the coming messiah. So, we mirror the yearning we read in the Old Testament. We yearn with Jeremiah who prophesied,
“The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land” (Jer 33:14-15).
While the line of David has been cut down like a tree, they yearned for a king to bring justice and righteousness to the land, growing up from that stump. … We reflect that yearning, desiring the Messiah to come and bring justice and righteousness to our world. We yearn for Christ’s return.
We don’t know when Christ will come again, and we are warned about not predicting a specific time. He says he will come “like a thief in the night” (1 Thes 5:2). This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be expecting Christ to come again. If we believe Christ’s words, then we should expect it and we should prepare for it.
The end of our Gospel reading is as important for us now as it was for those early Christians to whom it was first written-
We don’t know when Christ will come again, and we are warned about not predicting a specific time. He says he will come “like a thief in the night” (1 Thes 5:2). This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be expecting Christ to come again. If we believe Christ’s words, then we should expect it and we should prepare for it.
The end of our Gospel reading is as important for us now as it was for those early Christians to whom it was first written-
“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Lk 21:34-36).
Be diligent. Watch yourselves. Stay attentive. Do not allow the cares of this life to trap you. Live like he is coming back at any moment. Don’t be seduced into thinking that we have all the time in the world. We are being called to live with purpose, with attention, with a kind of ascetical effort. … The life of sin is often one we slide into when we aren’t paying attention. So, pay attention to your life in light of the fact that Christ is coming again. Prepare your heart for his return. Live in such a way that you are as ready for Jesus’ return as you can be.
We shouldn’t be fearful of his return in the normal way we think about being fearful. But we should be attentive and take our preparation seriously. We sometimes think about judgement in a very human wat, but God’s ways are not our ways. So what will judgement be like. The preacher, Austin Farrer, said,
We shouldn’t be fearful of his return in the normal way we think about being fearful. But we should be attentive and take our preparation seriously. We sometimes think about judgement in a very human wat, but God’s ways are not our ways. So what will judgement be like. The preacher, Austin Farrer, said,
“The God who saves us is the God who judges us. We are not condemned by his severity and redeemed by his compassion; what judges us is what redeems us, the love of God. What is it that will break our hearts on judgment day? Is it not the vision, suddenly unrolled, of how he has loved the friends we have neglected, of how he has loved us and we have not loved him in return; how, when we come before his altar, he gave us himself, and we gave him half-penitences, or resolutions too weak to commit our wills? But while love thus judges us by being what it is, the same love redeems us.”
That is an important teaching to me. The Christ who judges me is also the one who loves me and died for me. So, we should not be overwhelmed by fear, but we should be deadly serious about it, and live now so I won’t have regrets then.
This Advent, let’s keep the coming of Jesus in the front of our mind. Let’s prepare ourselves to see him. Let’s not leave it for our deathbed. Just keep that question with you during Advent. What if he came today? Would you be ready to face him? May God in His mercy make us ready to face Him. AMEN
This Advent, let’s keep the coming of Jesus in the front of our mind. Let’s prepare ourselves to see him. Let’s not leave it for our deathbed. Just keep that question with you during Advent. What if he came today? Would you be ready to face him? May God in His mercy make us ready to face Him. AMEN
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