LUKE 21:25-28, 34-36
WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID,
IT WAS ALWAYS EXCITING ON CHRISTMAS MORNING WHEN MY GRANDPARENTS
WOULD COME TO OUR HOUSE WITH ARMLOADS OF GIFTS. MY GRANDMOTHER'S
FAVORITE HOLIDAY WAS CHRISTMAS, AND EVEN THOUGH SHE AND GRANDPA
DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY, THEY REALLY SPLURGED ON CHRISTMAS. MY
PARENTS WOULD ALWAYS GET US ONE THING WE HAD ASKED FOR, TOGETHER WITH
A LOT OF SOCKS AND UNDERWEAR. BUT MY GRANDPARENTS WOULD BRING
SURPRISES, THINGS WE HADN'T EVEN KNOWN WE WANTED. I STILL REMEMBER
THOSE MORNINGS.
TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF
THE CHURCH'S CALENDAR, AND YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE READINGS TELL US
ABOUT THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS. THERE SEEM TO BE TWO UNHEALTHY
WAYS OF DEALING WITH THE SECOND COMING. ONE IS TO OBSESS ABOUT IT,
LOOK FOR HIDDEN CODES, READ THE EVENTS DESCRIBED IN SCRIPTURE INTO
WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW – AND MAYBE SIT ON TOP OF A MOUNTAIN IN THE
HOLY LAND ON A CERTAIN DAY, WAITING FOR JESUS TO COME OUT OF THE SKY
LEADING A TROOP OF ANGELS. THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS AND THE
JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES WERE FOUNDED BY PEOPLE WHO HAD FIGURED OUT WHEN
JESUS WOULD COME AGAIN. PEOPLE HAVE DONE THAT, AND THEY KEEP DOING
IT. IN THE YEAR ONE THOUSAND THERE WAS ACTUALLY A SORT OF DEPRESSION
IN EUROPE, SINCE SO MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED THE WORLD WOULD END THAT
THEY STOPPED WORKING. AND IN THE YEAR 2000, IT WASN'T QUITE AS BAD,
BUT STILL THERE WERE THOSE WHO JUST KNEW THAT THIS WOULD BE THE DATE
WHEN THINGS WOULD CHANGE FOREVER.
AND YET EVEN JESUS TOLD
US THAT HE DIDN'T KNOW WHEN THESE THINGS WOULD HAPPEN, ONLY THE
FATHER.
THE OTHER UNHEALTHY WAY
TO DEAL WITH THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS IS TO IGNORE IT. AFTER ALL,
IF WE DON'T KNOW WHEN IT WILL BE, WHAT POSSIBLE RELEVANCE DOES IT
HAVE TO OUR DAILY LIFE? OR PERHAPS WE IGNORE THIS BECAUSE IT IS
FRIGHTENING AND THREATENS OUR COMFORTABLE PRESENT. IT'S EASY TO PUT
OUT OF OUR MIND.
BUT I DON'T THINK JESUS
MEANT US TO BE FRIGHTENED BY HIS SECOND COMING. I THINK HE WANTS US
TO REMEMBER THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, NO MATTER WHAT CATASTROPHES
TAKE PLACE, IN THE END GOD'S PLAN WILL BE FULFILLED, AND WE HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF THAT PLAN.
ADVENT IS A REMINDER THAT
WE LIVE IN AN IN-BETWEEN TIME.
I SUSPECT ALL OF US WERE
LITTLE KIDS ONCE. AND MOST OF US ARE NOW ADULTS. WHAT A DIFFERENCE
THERE IS BETWEEN BEING A LITTLE KID AND BEING AN ADULT DURING THE
TIME FROM THANKSGIVING TO CHRISTMAS. FOR AN ADULT, ESPECIALLY A
PARENT, THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO OCCUPY YOUR TIME. YOU'VE GOT TO
BUY GIFTS, OF COURSE; YOU'VE GOT TO DRAG OUT THE ORNAMENTS AND GET A
TREE AND DECORATE THE HOUSE. YOU'VE PROBABLY GOT A FEW PARTIES TO GO
TO. YOU PROBABLY HAVE A HAND IN PREPARING A GREAT FEAST FOR
CHRISTMAS. IF YOU WORK IN AN OFFICE, THERE ARE PROBABLY PARTIES
THERE, AND GIFTS TO BE EXCHANGED, AND IF YOU ARE A BOSS, YOU KNOW YOU
WON'T GET AS MUCH WORK OUT OF YOUR EMPLOYEES DURING THIS TIME OF YEAR
AS DURING THE REST – MEANING YOU WILL HAVE EVEN MORE TO DO IN
RUNNING YOUR ORGANIZATION. BUT FOR A LITTLE KID, IT'S COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT. THERE ARE REMINDERS OF CHRISTMAS EVERYWHERE – THE
DECORATIONS, THE ADVERTISEMENTS IN THE NEWSPAPERS, THE VARIOUS
SPECIAL PROGRAMS ON TELEVISION. AND BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT INVOLVED IN
GETTING READY, YOU LIVE IN A HAPPY ANTICIPATION – NOT JUST BECAUSE
YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR GIFTS, BUT BECAUSE EVERYTHING WILL BE
DIFFERENT; YOU WILL SEE RELATIVES YOU DON'T SEE VERY OFTEN AND EAT
THINGS YOU DON'T USUALLY EAT. BUT YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE THAT THE
BEHAVIOR OF THE ADULTS IN YOUR LIFE CHANGES, ESPECIALLY ON CHRISTMAS
DAY. IT IS THE SAME WORLD, BUT IN SOME SENSE, DIFFERENT. THE
WAITING IS A TIME TO BE SAVORED, THE DAYS TO BE COUNTED DOWN, THE
NIGHTS TO BE OCCUPIED BY DREAMING HAPPY DREAMS.
I THINK JESUS WANTS US TO
LIVE LIKE CHILDREN IN THIS IN-BETWEEN TIME. I THINK THAT'S WHY HE
SAYS FOR US TO STAND TALL AND RAISE OUR HEADS; WHY HE TELLS US TO BE
ALERT AND DON'T GET TRAPPED IN THE ENDLESS ROUTINE OF DAILY LIFE.
BECAUSE THAT IS THE GREATEST OF DANGERS – TO LIVE AS THOUGH THERE
ARE ENDLESS TOMORROWS AND TO WAKE UP ONE DAY REALIZING THAT YOU
AREN'T IN THE LEAST READY FOR THE END; IT'S THE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS
AND YOU HAVEN'T GOTTEN THE PRESENTS AND YOU HAVEN'T DECORATED THE
TREE AND YOU DON'T HAVE A THING READY FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER.
ADVENT IS MEANT TO WAKE
US UP, TO HELP US BECOME LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN ONCE AGAIN. AND JESUS
TELLS US TO PRAY THAT WE WILL ESCAPE THE FATE OF THOSE WHO AREN'T
PREPARED, BECAUSE IT'S EASY TO SLIP INTO A ROUTINE, TO TELL OURSELVES
THAT THERE IS ALWAYS TOMORROW.
BECAUSE WHEN WE STAND
BEFORE THE SON OF MAN, IF WE ESCAPE THOSE TRIBULATIONS, IT WILL BE
LIKE CHRISTMAS MORNING WITH GRANDPARENTS WALKING DOWN THE SIDEWALK TO
OUR FRONT DOOR, CARRYING WITH THEM ARMFULS OF SURPRISES.
IT IS A SAD THING TO
SPEND TIME TRYING TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHEN JESUS WILL COME AGAIN,
AND WHAT THAT MIGHT BE LIKE. IT IS EVEN SADDER TO GET LOST IN THE
DAILY ROUTINE, JUST GOING FROM ONE MEAL TO ANOTHER, FROM THE JOB TO
THE HOME AND BACK TO THE JOB; FROM GETTING OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING
TO FALLING BACK INTO BED IN THE EVENING.
THOSE ARE SAD THINGS
BECAUSE THEY ARE SO WASTEFUL OF THE IN-BETWEEN TIME WE HAVE BEEN
GIVEN, THE TIME WHEN WE CAN GET READY, AS MUCH AS ANYONE CAN GET
READY, FOR THE SURPRISE IN STORE FOR US WHEN THE SON OF MAN COMES TO
HIS PEOPLE IN A CLOUD OF GLORY.
