Have I mentioned how much I hate the
Gospel lessons for the First Sunday in Advent? Okay. Maybe I have. It’s just that
I remember those thrilling days of the early 1970’s and the publication of Hal
Lindsay’s magnum opus The Late Great
Planet Earth, and every time we get these Second-Coming-End-of-the World-Eschatological
lessons appointed for our Gospel reading I think of a bunch of long-haired
hippies sitting around in storefront churches waiting for The Rapture. I think
of that awful movie Thief in the Night
and the attempt to frighten everybody into a personal relationship with Jesus—as
if that were possible—and I start to feel a bit queasy. I just don’t like
Doomsday narratives. I don’t even like the current taste for dystopian stories
in our popular culture. (No. I haven’t seen The
Hunger Games, and I don’t plan to, either—fond as I am of Jennifer Lawrence!).
But I have to admit, if I were into End-Times Biblical prophecy, these
days do look pretty much like the end of the world. In ISIS we face a new and insidious
form of Islamic extremism, a mysterious global entity of terror which rivals
anything Ian Fleming could’ve made up. Global climate change is causing “hundred
year” storms to break out annually. There are wars and rumors of wars—saber-rattling
in Russia and China. There is economic inequality and racial tension here in
America. Today a third-grader has greater command of modern technology than I
do, but has vastly weaker verbal and written communication skills—a fact
ignored by those who espouse a tax policy which is perfectly content to see
that third-grader languish in a public school system already reeking of
rigormortis.
So are these the signs of the end of the
world?
I’d have to say, “Yup! It’s the end of
something, alright!”
In this week’s Gospel lesson (Luke
21:25-36), Jesus warns us that things are going to look pretty bad. There are
going to be freaky signs and portents which will cause people to faint with
fear and foreboding (verse 26). But yet he maintains that these changes are
signs of God’s coming kingdom. Do I personally believe that these are signs of
the end of all time? No. Not really. But I do believe that the things which are
familiar and comfortable are going to be rocked off their foundations and we’re
not going to be able to escape that. The Gospel lesson even has Jesus tell us
that every generation will face change and loss and uncertainty. No generation
will pass away without it.
But here’s the good news:
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my
words will not pass away.” (v.33)
Our spiritual walk is never about what
happens—it’s about how we choose to embrace it. It’s not for us to figure out
God’s intentions about the end of our little planet. It is for us to lift our
heads and be open to what God is teaching us. It’s also for us, as Christians,
to be excited about the new thing God
is doing—even if we find it scary and uncomfortable. Old worlds pass away so
that new worlds can begin. Bill Moore, a Baptist pastor from North Philly,
always used to say, “Man’s desperation is God’s opportunity.” As people of
faith we trust in the ongoing truth of the Word of God, and in the Holy Spirit’s
ability to work through us and bring resolutions to the problems which confront
this age. These resolutions will not bring us back to our past comfort zones.
Rather, they will lead us forward to new and different experiences of God’s
goodness.
Martin Luther’s world was also confronted
with Islamic extremism as Turkish forces threatened Christian Europe. Plagues
and wars destroyed populations. Social chaos (some of which was caused by
Luther himself!) tore at the fabric of society. Peoples’ very cosmology was upended
by the new discoveries of astronomers and explorers. Yet out of all of this
craziness came the Renaissance and the Reformation.
Last Sunday I attended a retirement party
for one of my colleagues. Claire Burkat, my bishop, was present. In her usually
optimistic way she told me how excited she was about the new crop of young
pastors and seminarians who are chomping at the proverbial bit to serve our
Church. They are already adapting through the use of social media. They don’t
mind being bi-vocational—taking secular jobs so as not to be dependent on congregational
giving for their salaries. They want to encourage lay leaders and train
volunteers for the Gospel. They have a radical vision of what Church could be
which might seem odd to someone of my generation. Some old traditions may be
going by the wayside, but something new is coming.
So stay awake, folks! Instead of preparing
for Christmas this year, let’s all prepare for Christ. I have a feeling he’s up to something.
Happy Advent. Thanks for reading.
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