Sermons for the Month
Jesus and Us: Signs of Hope
DATE: December 3rd, 2006
SERVICE: First Sunday in Advent
TEXT: Luke 21:25-36“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
"We live in between the first coming of Jesus Christ and his second coming, and most of us feel a lot better about the first one," wrote Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. in The Christian Century. He then went on to describe the various preparations that he labeled as domesticating Christmas - the manger scenes, the wreaths, the poinsettias and the gentle hymns like, "Away in a Manger." "Altogether we figure out how to manage Christmas so that the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay won't end up scaring anybody," he observed. (1) But the return of Jesus mentioned in today's Gospel lesson, now that's another matter. The images are scary - signs in the heavens, distress among nations and a roaring sea that are so overwhelming that people faint from fear as the powers of the heavens are shaken. Then the Son of Man, Jesus will come with power and great glory and, to quote C.S. Lewis, he's "God without disguise." This time it's not a newborn who shows up, but the risen Lord Jesus. The text makes it clear that for his followers this is a good thing, "Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." Yet, it seems that the very idea of Jesus returning makes us uneasy. Professor Plantinga suggests that there are several reasons that's true. One is that we do not grasp that this description represents a particular type of writing called apocalyptic literature. It's a revelation that tells about the transition from this age to the next and it's hard to interpret because it should be viewed as poetry rather than history. We don't know how literally to read it. The second problem is that Christians have been expecting Jesus to return for a long time, and we are still waiting. That makes it difficult to remain ready, or even to believe that what's being described will actually occur. We can't figure out God's timing. And, third, for those of us who are confessional Protestants the whole thing may sound just too fantastic, too supernatural. We are inclined to leave focusing on such an event to those "other" Christians, some of whom have turned speculation about the end times into a billion-dollar industry with books and movies and bumper stickers. Finally, while we pray "thy kingdom come" we may hope that it will not fully come yet. After all, when our own kingdom has had a good year we are not necessarily looking for God's kingdom. When life is good, why bother with redemption? Nevertheless, that day will come - perhaps during our life times - the transformation which is now in process will be completed and the righteousness of God will fill the earth. In the meantime, though, we are challenged to reflect that great and glorious day in the way we live. To quote Professor Plantinga one more time, "The hardest part for people who believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ is in living the sort of life that makes people say, 'Ah, so that's how people are going to live when righteousness takes over our world.'" It's true, then, that the real purpose in speaking about the "last days" is to affect the present one. With the coming of Jesus in view, Paul prays that the Christians in Thessalonica will grow in love and holiness while waiting for that day. It's a prayer that fits for us as well; may we grow in love and holiness while we wait. We live in difficult times. I guess every generation could say that, but it has seemed particularly true recently. Nearly every day someone makes a comment to me about the war in Iraq. Last week one of our World War II veterans expressed how overwhelmingly sad the situation has become and someone else asked that I put specific prayers for peace back on the prayer list. The news has been daunting this week as the United States has now been involved in the war in Iraq longer than we were in World War II. There are 140,000 troops there and $2 billion per week is being spent on military operations. Many observers now label it as a civil war that has spun out of control with no agreement in sight about the future shape of Iraqi government. I think it's safe to say that regardless of our political stances, as Christians we are saddened by the huge loss of life and of resources. This one situation, as well as all the others that challenge us in our world and in our individual lives, make it difficult to hang onto HOPE. Traditionally the theme on the First Sunday in Advent is HOPE, and would guess that there have been many first Sundays when people have felt less than hopeful. Perhaps that's because we forget two things - at least I know I do. The first is that Jesus is our hope; he arrived the first time as a human being with whom we can identify whose words and actions invite us to see the world and our place in it in a new way. Remember last week's focus? We are subjects in the Kingdom of Jesus which means that there is more to us than meets the eye. We have within us the power of love that transforms. I like the way Sister Katherine L. Howard reflected on that reality in an Advent devotion. "Daily, and many times daily, during all the in-between years of life we can call on the Spirit of Christ living within us to pour out divine love through our unique personalities and communities, increasing our love for one another and for all people." (2) So the second important thing we forget is that we are signs of hope as we strive to live now what will be fully true when Jesus returns. There was an article in the newspaper on Tuesday positioned directly under one headlined, "Experts say Iraq is out of control" that was about a soldier's experience in Iraq. The young man is from Copley and was at war most of this year. I expected it to be a dire account of the conditions there; it was not. There were several touching stories about positive interactions with the Iraqi people, including children. It seems that the children of Iraq are not all that different from children here; they love soccer but had little equipment. So, the soldier - whose name is Frank LaRose, Jr. - contacted his family and friends in Copley and Fairlawn who began a major effort to get soccer equipment to Iraqi children. In the end, about 150 soccer balls and boxes of new and used equipment were shipped and distributed to the soccer-loving children of Iraq. It's a small thing in the midst of a huge tragedy; nevertheless, it's a sign of hope. That's who we are, signs of hope as we live in this time between the first and second coming of Jesus. I believe that it is true that the only real purpose in talking about the "last days" is to affect the present ones. So, when we see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory, let us jump up with joyful anticipation because our redemption is near. But, until that great and glorious day arrives, let us live in such a way that we show people what it will be like when that day comes. When they see us may they say, "There is hope". (1) "Between Two Advents: In the Interim" by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., The Christian Century, December 6, 2000, pp. 1270-1272, www.christiancentury.org (2) Daily Reflections for Advent and Christmas by Sister Katherine L. Howard, O.S.B, 2006 by the Order of St. Benedict, Collegeville, MN., pg. 3,
AMEN
(1) "Between Two Advents: In the Interim" by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., The Christian Century, December 6, 2000, pp. 1270-1272, www.christiancentury.org
(2) Daily Reflections for Advent and Christmas by Sister Katherine L. Howard, O.S.B, 2006 by the Order of St. Benedict, Collegeville, MN., pg. 3,