Luke 21:25-36 (NRSV)
“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. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is
coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with
power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take
place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is
drawing near.”
Then
he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees;
as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know
that summer is already near. So also, when you see these
things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all
things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but
my words will not pass away.
“Be
on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation
and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not
catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all
who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all
times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these
things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Well...Christmas
is coming! 23 shopping days left. Which may strike terror in the
hearts of some, for me and Amazon Prime, it is about 20 days more
than I have to have. Because although I do adore a lot of things
about the Christmas season, shopping is on the bottom of that list.
For some folks, the presents were purchased ages ago and are already
wrapped with labels or ready to be shipped to friends and family far
away. None of the people that I'm close to, but I hear that it
happens! For me, even as a kid, it wasn't so much about the stuff as
the feeling of anticipation. The excitement.
From
my teen years my family has played Pollyanna at Christmas. Some of
you might know it as Secret Santa or Kris Kringle – but since I'm
one of five kids, even getting something for each of the seven
“original” members would mean financial ruin or really lame
gifts. From the time of the ritual of drawing names at Thanksgiving
until the wrapping paper flew on Christmas morning...it was a season
of anticipation. One year I got my sister Karen's name and I spent
many hours creating a wedding doll with tiny pearls on her dress.
Another year I got my sister Denise's name and I painstakingly
restored an old trunk that she still displays in her home decades
later. I think one of the years of greatest anticipation was the year
that I was 15. I know I wasn't 16 yet because I did all my shopping
that year on my 10 speed bike! I got Mom's name that year and somehow
one of her artist friends took pity on the pocketbook of a 15 year
old and sold me one of her landscapes that I knew Mom would love for
the $25 I had to spend. I remember how tricky it was getting that bag
home dangling from one hand as I biked home, hoping and praying that
Mom wouldn't be watching or drive past! And on Christmas morning all
I could think of was her opening the gift! Another of our traditions
was to line up on the basement stairs before we would be released
into the living room where gifts from Santa and grandparents had
magically appeared overnight. We five kids shivered with anticipation
while the grownups turned the lights on the tree and checked to see
if Santa had indeed arrived. And it hit me as I sat there on the
third step (whether it was a year of “oldest first” or “youngest
first” I was always in the middle!) with my brother and sisters
whispering loudly and maybe pushing each other a little that I
realized there were gifts there for me too! I had been so focused on
the gift that I was giving, that the receiving part had been
forgotten.
I'm
sure I got some nice things that day. I don't really remember. But
what I DO remember was watching Mom's face when she unwrapped that
painting. And the happy tears when she saw it. My favorite thing to
do is make my Mom cry at Christmas... That's one of my best
Christmases ever and in the years that have passed, I try to embrace
that spirit of anticipation.
And
I imagine how excited God was to give his incredible gift to the
world! What motivated such a gift? It could only come from a God of
love. I think that night as it all unfolded of the shivers of
anticipation as God flipped the story and sent his SON to walk the
earth as a human, to create a new connection to his creation. The
fulfillment of a promise that the prophets had foretold – a
righteous branch who will do what is just and right in the land. And
the people had been waiting. And longing. And needing...
The
prophet Jeremiah in today's scripture relates that promise – that
the days are coming when he would bring forth such a branch from the
line of David and that through that branch Judah would be saved and
Jerusalem would live in safety. But Jeremiah was by no means the only
prophet who spoke of a Messiah to come. Almost a millennium and a
half prior to the birth of Jesus, God began to give his people an
enormous amount of specific information about Jesus' life and
ministry! In J. Barton Payne's Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy he
itemizes 127 predictions involving more than 3,000 verses including
574 which refer directly to a personal Messiah. Here are a few of the
definite clues about this coming (a small selection of a much longer
list):
-
Genesis 3:15 states that The Messiah would be the seed/offspring of a
woman and would crush the head of Satan
-
Genesis 12:3 says he would come from the seed of Abraham and would
bless all the nations on earth
-
Micah 5:2 declared he would be born in Bethlehem of Judah
- and
Isaiah 7:14 said he would be born of a virgin. Isaiah also said in
Chapter 9 that He would be called “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty
God,” “Everlasting Father,” “Prince of Peace,” and would
possess an everlasting kingdom. But then Isaiah 53:5 and warns he
would be pierced for our transgression and crushed for our iniquities
and He would die among the wicked ones but be buried with the rich.
Daniel
said He would come again from the clouds of heaven as the Son of Man
and Malachi said He would be the “Sun of Righteousness” for all
who revere Him and look for His coming again.
The
prophecies about the Messiah were not a bunch of scattered
predictions randomly placed throughout the Old Testament, but they
form a unified promise-plan of God, where each promise is
interrelated and connected into a grand series comprising one
continuous plan of God.
But
the people had been waiting...for a long long time. And it is easy to
see how some people got tired of the waiting and gave up. But then
another prophet came on the scene...and this guy might have seemed
like a nut. He hung out in the wilderness and wore clothes made of
camel's hair eating locusts and wild honey. And he was declaring that
the wait was finally over – that the appearance of the Messiah was
imminent. And that the people should get ready!
Luke
3 tells of the start of John's proclamation, He went
into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is
written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The
voice of one crying out in the wilderness:‘Prepare the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight. Every
valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made
low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made
smooth; and
all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'”
John
is doing more than informing people that the Messiah is coming, he's
telling people what they need to do to get ready. Because it isn't
enough to just anticipate the coming – we've got to get ready.
If we
remember our elementary school story of Paul Revere – we know that
his ride wasn't just about a warning...it was actually a call to
action! John the Baptist wasn't just proclaiming, he was calling the
people to action. Because there was a lot of crooked to be made
straight and a rough places to be made smooth. We see that in John's
reaction to some of the people who came to him for baptism...because
John could see that some of the people were just going along with the
crowd, but their hearts weren't changed. And John was not having
it...Luke 3:7-9 describes the scene with his followers: John said
to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of
vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear
fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We
have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from
these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even
now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
These
people were just hedging their bets – baptize me John just in
case you are right about this Messiah. No way, this isn't about
fleeing the wrath to come, this is about bearing fruits worthy of
repentance. Don't run to me because of fear – run to me because you
are looking for the right way to connect to God. And don't think you
get a free pass because of Abraham.
And
the people ask him what the right way is - “okay John, if it isn't
just about the baptism...what SHOULD we do?” And he spells it out
in very simple and practical terms. Luke 3 continues: “Whoever
has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has
food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors
came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we
do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than
the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also
asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do
not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be
satisfied with your wages.”
If you
have enough to share, then you should share. Clothes. Food. All of
it.
Don't
collect more than you are supposed to get. Don't cheat.
Don't
extort money by threats and lies. Be satisfied with what you agreed
your wages were going to be when you took the job.
John's
list of recommendations are ones that we should all embrace today as
we again prepare for the coming Messiah. Share. Be honest. Don't
cheat. Be satisfied with what we have. Do unto others...
Every
major religion that I have studied has some version of the Golden
Rule. A few years ago when my youth class and I spent a year with The
Idiot's Guide to World Religion, we heard many versions.
From
Judaism in the Babylonian Talmud – What is hateful to you, do not
do to your fellow; this is the whole Torah; the rest is explanation;
go and learn.
From
the hadith in the Islam tradition – None of you truly believes
until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.
From
Hindu – Those acts that you consider good when done to you, do
those to others, none else.
Confucianism
– What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.
And
from one of my youth...we'll call it a Chance-ism...don't be a jerk.
We
still have a lot of rough places to smooth, valleys to fill and paths
to make straight. We look around and see a world that Jeremiah would
recognize, a world in pain and suffering. A people cut off from their
God in many ways. And a world that John the Baptist would recognize
with people holding onto extra coats and food...tax collectors taking
more than they were due...people on the margins being cheated and
pushed further into poverty and desperation. But we know the rest of
the story! We don't have to stay in the lamentation of Jeremiah
because we know the promise was fulfilled. And that means that the
other promises are also going to be fulfilled. We are called to be a
people of hope because we know the truth is true. That God DID send
his son down to be our savior.
And we
listen to the words of John the Baptist as he tells us to get ready.
To prepare. Because we aren't just sitting on our hands waiting and
anticipating. We've got a party to get ready for.
Sometimes
we are too quick to jump from Thanksgiving to Christmas. But we NEED
this time of Advent to prepare. To realign our hearts and minds away
from the usual way of doing things to the Christ way of doing things.
And it's about to get radical up in here! Sure, Christmas is about
celebrating when Jesus came the first time – but Advent is about
something more than getting ready for the baby. It is about getting
ready for the main event. The one that Jesus himself told us was
coming.
Our
gospel lesson today is Jesus telling his disciples and followers (and
that includes us) about what is going to happen in the coming days.
Luke 21 finds Jesus with his followers in and around the magnificent
Temple in Jerusalem. Do you realize when this was happening? I'll
give you a hint...he's only been in town a few days and he arrived to
quite a fanfare. Yes, this prophetic warning delivered by Jesus was
part of Holy Week! So why are we hearing it at the beginning of
Advent? Because we need to understand that we are in a new season of
expectation and anticipation. We know Jesus came – now we need to
remember that he is coming back!
There
will be signs in the sun, moon and stars...distress among
nations...fear and foreboding and people will not know what to do.
But then he will come.
With
power and glory and then we can stand up straight and raise our heads
because our redemption is near. Just like you can tell that spring is
here when the leaves appear on the trees, you will know. But Jesus
has instruction in this passage that we would be wise to read and
follow. From the Common English Bible, Luke 21:34-36, “Take care
that your hearts aren’t dulled by drinking parties, drunkenness,
and the anxieties of day-to-day life. Don’t let that day fall upon
you unexpectedly, like a trap. It will come upon everyone who lives
on the face of the whole earth. Stay alert at all times,
praying that you are strong enough to escape everything that is about
to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Don't
let your hearts be dulled by the things of this world – whether it
be parties, drunkenness or the anxieties of the day-to-day. Oh.
Hmmm.... I think I was ok with my heart not being dulled by parties
(I'm kind of an introvert anyway) or drunkenness (because moderation
is my friend) but I'm in serious trouble if I'm called to answer for
the anxieties of daily living. Because that is my struggle. I
sometimes feel I don't have enough time for more Bible study,
devotion and prayer because I'm so busy. Or not enough time to go see
a friend who is sick or depressed. Just not enough hours in the day.
Jesus says don't lose track of what is really important. Am I living
a life that is aligned with God's heart?
For
those who live to step on others, the message is judgment of those
actions and a call to repentance. Turn it around and live with a
changed heart.
For
those who cling to God's promises, Jesus's message is one of hope.
Look up, hold your head up high...the celebration is at hand! Are you
sharing your coat and food? Are you resisting the urge to get ahead
by cheating or stepping on others? Are you aligned with the heart of
God? Then keep on doing those things that are good – and resisting
evil – and the kingdom is at hand.
Don't
lose hope, but rely on the fact that you know that God keeps his
promises. And if we are to wait, let us wait with confidence in the
knowledge that we worship a mighty and loving God. A God who is
smiling down upon us, just waiting to see our expression when we
unwrap the gift and see that it is wonderful. Maybe we don't know
what to expect or when it will arrive but we are waiting with joyful
expectation for our Messiah to come again.
As we
prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, let's also be sure that
we are prepared for the day he will come again. Come, thou long
expected Jesus, born to set your people free. From our fears and sins
release us. Let us find our rest in Thee. Thanks be to God.
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