Luke 21:25-36
Jesus said, "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.
In this day and age, climate change, species extinction, air and water pollution, and the many disasters that are beginning to occur apparently due to our neglect of the planet itself, have caught public attention. In response, our society is beginning to try to find a way to reverse the devastation we may ourselves have caused, while also attempting to deal with materialism, greed, and the outbreak of plagues and any number of wars.
Things were different in Jesus’ time, long before anyone had messed up the oceans with plastic. People listening to our Lord heard His words, and their thoughts turned, not to what we might think of today, but to the place where, as far as they were concerned, such apocalyptic events originated, to that higher plain where God Himself was in control. Even though there are those today who, in an educated way, fear what they see happening, for the most part, they do not fear with an eye toward heaven, toward God.
Our response to what Jesus describes, is to attempt to find a way to explain it, and/or to fix it. While such efforts, to correct the terrible situations we may face, are laudable, it seems in our society the most important response is missing. We tend to get wrapped up in the worries of this life, as our Lord called them, and we forget that while we work to atone, to repair what has been damaged, we are meant to be looking toward heaven, in our hearts, in our prayers, in our lives.
Jesus foretold of horrors so great that, “People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” And ever since He said those words, people have been looking around them and foretelling the end of days. We’ve had a lot of such prophecies, like the global disaster Y2K was supposed to be, but though such prophesies have filled many with terror, they have all turned out to be empty. However, they’ve certainly been both exciting and newsworthy.
Jesus says, “Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.”
It appears that in this day and age no one, except the fundamentalists, seem to be much concerned with this part of what Jesus had to say. After all, it’s been a while, and unless it actually happens, it isn’t going to make those all-important headlines.
The disciples, however, thought Jesus would come back soon, maybe, probably, even in their lifetime. They lived their lives thinking that at any moment Jesus would return. It’s like holding off just a few more moments by saying, “Wait for it. Wait for it. Now!” But they had the “Wait for it. Wait for it.” And “now” never came. In fact, it has yet to come. The Christian Church around the world has been collectively holding its breath for nearly twenty centuries – always waiting, always watching. And still the time has not come for Jesus’ return --- Not yet.
Jesus says, “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
And here we are this day. It is Advent: the word means “coming.” This is the first day of the new Church year, and like every Church year, we start by remembering when Jesus first came into the world and remembering that He will come again. How are we really supposed to do that, and do it in a way that is pleasing to Jesus Himself? What are we supposed to do, as we look at our society, our world, our planet – as we perceive a world which may be falling down around us?
The great reformer Martin Luther was asked this very sort of question. Someone challenged, “What would you do if you heard that Jesus would return tomorrow?” Martin Luther said that he would plant a tree. For in all likelihood, the rumor would be untrue. After all, Jesus said elsewhere that no one knows the hour or day when He would return. No one but the Father. So why not plant a tree and plan for the future? Then if Luther was wrong and his Lord did return, he would find Luther taking care of the earth. Too bad our society hasn’t been following that line of thinking. Instead, we live in a world where we failed to plant trees, a world filled with “signs of the end”.
Here’s a “heads up”. Today is the end of the world, right now. Thursday was Karen’s day, when her time in this world ended. This is the day for somebody else. Thousands of somebodies – maybe a million or more. All over the world, today is the day of judgment. Many, many people will die today. Many others will reach an important point of decision. For all those people, the end is very near.
Passages, like this morning’s Gospel, events like Karen’s sudden and unexpected passing, remind us that we don’t have forever to decide what we think about this Jesus of Nazareth. Despite all the “worries of this life”, there is a time to decide, and that time is always now. We always have now. Jesus reminds us that we don’t always have later.
It is Advent. For whose birth are we preparing, whose example are we called to follow?
C.S. Lewis once said, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.”
If Jesus was who He said He was, we can have a relationship with him right now, this day, this moment. Then the end of the world is more or less irrelevant, as we have already begun eternal life.
Let us pray:
Jesus Christ, our God, we adore You, and we await Your coming. Help us to always remember that in each beginning is an end, that each new day heralds the end of night, and another chance for us to put You first in our priorities. This Advent, as we prepare to again welcome You as the baby in the manger, help us to also remember the cross and the Way that You have given us to follow. Help us each day to renew our commitment and dedicate our lives to You. All this we ask for Your love and mercy’s sake. Amen.
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