Date:
November 29, 2009, First Sunday in Advent
Author: The Rev. Dr. James D. Kegel
GRACE TO YOU AND PEACE FROM GOD OUR FATHER AND THE LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, AMEN.
William Least Heat Moon, in his book Blue Highways, tells the story of two boys who went fishing and stayed too long. Since it was almost dark, they took a shortcut home along a railroad track which crossed four deep gorges on wooden trestle bridges. As they were crossing the last bridge, a locomotive appeared out of the forest, coming toward them. There was no walkway nor could they outrun the train, so they slipped down between the ties and hung by their arms as the train rumbled over them.
After the train passed, neither boy could pull himself up. There they hung, in the complete darkness, unable to pull up and afraid to let go because they could not see what sat under them. They called for help. Finally a man found them in the beam of his flashlight. “What are you boys doing?” the man asked. The man was standing in a marsh a few feet from them. The boys’ feet were only ten inches off the ground.
The end is coming. Jesus said to his disciples, “There will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars and on earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.” Luke’s Gospel was likely written in the last third of the first century and in its final form may have been written after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Just before this passage, Jesus prophesies that Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies and be destroyed. For Luke’s readers, it is likely that the events had already occurred. The Temple was replaced by a pagan shrine; the Jews were driven out and Gentiles moved in. The Jewish people were scattered in a great Diaspora and through all these years the Temple sacrifices have never resumed. The destruction of Jerusalem was a sign of the end times for the whole world—turmoil in the heavens and disorder on earth. The primordial chaos from which God created the heavens and the earth would return at the end of the ages. Not only Jerusalem but the whole world would be shaken and fall.
The end times bring fear. Jesus’ words are vivid: “People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming up upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. The Greek in our text really means, “People will not be able to breathe because they are so afraid.” We know what that is like. When we are anxious and afraid, we may forget to breathe. When we are called to speak in public or in my case play the piano in public, I may stop breathing. I worked with a pastor who when he tried to chant the proper preface in the liturgy started hyperventilating. Poor guy! We can only imagine the fear at the end of the world—the powers of the heaven do not refer only to sun, moon and stars but to the divinities believed to be behind the heavenly bodies—those powers and principalities that were supposed to govern life on earth. There will be absolutely nothing left to depend upon on that terrible day.
Except for the people of God—all will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Christ will come again to judge the quick and the dead, the living and the dead. God’s people are cheered. Jesus said, “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
The prophecy of the end-times is a message of redemption. The word “redemption” is used only here in Luke’s Gospel. For us believers, the end time is the time when our faith is vindicated. We look forward to the day when the rulers of this age are displaced and Christ is Lord of all. All people will see Jesus come as the Son of Man foretold by the prophet Daniel. The human one who will come is none other than Jesus who came to suffer and die on the cross. When he comes again it will be in power and great glory.
The ancient Chinese had a unique mechanism for staging plays. They would present a drama on a two-level stage. The resolution of the drama was acted out on the upper stage, while the story was acted out on the lower. So as tension and mystery were building on the first level, the audience watching the resolution would yell to the people on the first level, “Hang in there! Do not give up!” They knew the end of the story and so could encourage those still acting it out.
Helmut Thielicke the German theologian and pastor once wrote, “Those who possess the last hour need not fear the next minute.” We Christians know the last hour. We know that when Christ comes on the clouds, He comes to save us. Our attitude is not fear or foreboding but confidence and trust. Jesus then tells a parable about a fig tree. Everyone knows that when the trees begin to sprout leaves that summer is near. He tells us that when we see the signs of the times, we will know that redemption is near. But in the meantime Jesus also warns us not to weigh our souls down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life. We should spend the days alert, praying for strength and courage.
This past week, I was visiting a man who was dying. I read from Philippians 4, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice. Let your forbearance, your gentleness, be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” It is not always easy to trust and obey the Lord, to cast our worries and anxieties on Him. We need to be reminded over and over that God is with us; God will never leave us or forsake us. Jesus says, “Lo I am with your always, even to the end of the age,” and Jesus means it. Jesus is with us in the Word which enlivens our faith, in the bread and wine which nourish our spirit, in sisters and brothers who lift burdens just by their presence. We struggle for the faith that sees victory at the end of defeat, which believes the things hoped for and is assured about the things unseen.
In our Bible class a week ago one of you talked about your grandfather after the death of his beloved wife. He was a pastor from a family of pastors and I am sure that he had preached many times on the hope of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life. But you said when his wife of many years died, he seemed inconsolable. As Christians we do not deny our grief. We do not pretend to be happy when there are so many things to be sad about. Some of you have cancer. Some of you are out of a job. Some of you are anxious about retirement. Some of you may have been alone this Thanksgiving. Some of you are mourning the loss of loved ones. Joanne, Dorothy, Babe and Steve and Mary, Bob and David and Judy, we mourn with you this morning. Remember that God is for you. Lift up your heads and see beyond this difficult time. Grief will be transformed to joy. We look forward to wonderful things. This pastor’s wife was gone from him but not gone from God. If we believe the promises of God in Jesus Christ, then we do not sorrow overmuch but we trust the Lord to bring life and redemption.
Our Bible class also read God’s promise in Isaiah: “Your eyes will see the king of beauty…Look on Zion…Your eyes will see Jerusalem a quiet habitation in an immovable tent, whose stakes will never be pulled up and none of whose ropes will be broken. But there the Lord in majesty will be for…For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king; He will save us.”
“Hang in there! Do not give up!” “When these take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” “The eternal God is your dwelling place and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
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