Advent Sunday

December 2                            NOTES FOR REFLECTION                         Advent Sunday

Texts:  Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-26

Theme: Not very difficult this week: "The Coming of the Lord" would do nicely; although we might be tempted to add an "s" to "Coming".

Introduction.  Traditionally we spend Advent going backwards through the three comings of Christ.  We begin with his wrongly-called Second Coming", a term not found in the Scriptures; then through the ministry of John the Baptist we remember his coming among the people of Galilee in ministry; and finally we turn our attention to his coming to Mary through the Holy Spirit.  I suppose that pattern has two advantages: by ending with Mary it links in nicely with Christmas, and by beginning with his Return at the end of the age it means we get the difficult bit over with first.  Today's readings, then, do their best; Jeremiah looks ahead in hope and confidence; Luke warns that it will be a harrowing time; and St Paul tells us what to do in the present.  It is one of those unusual weeks when the epistle reading is perhaps the most helpful of the three.

Background.  So let's begin with what we are SUPPOSED to believe about Christ's Return.  There are two relevant questions in The Catechism (Prayer Book, page 938):

70.       What does the Church believe about the last things?

That God in Christ will come in glory to judge the living and the dead, in the fullness of time.  We look to resurrection life and participation with the saints in glory.

71.       How are we to live in this hope?

We anticipate the coming of Christ and we live now in the newness of eternal life which the Spirit gives: we work for the fulfilment of God's purpose for the whole creation.

Our creeds and affirmations of faith are what we SAY we believe.  The Nicene Creed (page 410) says this: He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.  The Apostles' Creed (page 461) is more terse: and will come again to judge the living and the dead.  Lastly, the Affirmation of Faith on page 461 makes no reference to Christ's return.

So that's what we are supposed to believe, and what we say we believe, but what do we actually believe about Christ's return, if anything?  Perhaps a fairly safe starting-point may be a belief that history has a direction; it is a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end.  That's a very Jewish view of history, and we have adopted it into the Christian faith.   God is revealed in history.  As the great hymn tells us, "God is working his purpose out", and "the time is drawing near... when the earth will be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea."

So we are heading to a conclusion, whatever that may involve.  And in speculating about that, there is another element of Jewish understanding of history at work in today's gospel passage.  Looking back over their history the Jewish people discern certain "patterns of behaviour" that God has repeated over the centuries.  Thus, in Jewish belief, there is a similarity between the rescue from slavery in Egypt and the release of the exiles in Babylon.  In today's gospel the key image is around the destruction of the Temple and the ransacking of Jerusalem, and this gives rise to the cataclysmic view of "the end of the world" imagery invested in the "End Times".  There is also the idea of death and resurrection here: that out of the destruction and desolation comes new life.

With this in mind I was fascinated to read the following passage in Michael Dowd's book, "Thank God for Evolution":

Then one spring day, a terrible catastrophe struck.  An asteroid, 10 miles across, travelling at a speed of 50,000 miles per hour, crashed into our planet just off the Yucatan peninsula of what is today Mexico, punching out a crater 100 miles wide...

The meteor impact that wiped out the dinosaurs turned the sky into a cauldron of sulphuric acid.  It also triggered a magnitude 12 earthquake, which is a million times more powerful than a magnitude 6 earthquake.  This, in turn, unleashed at least 6 mega tsunamis, several of which were more than 300 feet high.  The impact ignited a global firestorm that incinerated perhaps a quarter of the living biomass, releasing so much carbon dioxide that the average global temperature (after plunging into cold, owing to the cloud of dust obscuring the Sun) later rose by 20 degrees Fahrenheit and stayed that way for a million years...three out of every four species alive at the time went extinct.

All in all it was not one of earth's better days.  But thankfully, from our perspective, it was precisely this catastrophe that allowed those mammals that [previously] survived in burrows to flourish and diversify, culminating in all the amazing mammals of the world today, including ourselves.

So...the next time you're greeted by a 300-fopot tsunami at home or at the office, just remember that you are part of an amazing, creative Universe that turns chaos and catastrophes into new growth and opportunities as regularly as day follows night.  This is very good news.

Now read Romans 8:38-39!

More recent examples may be worth referring to, including the Christchurch earthquakes, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, Super-storm Sandie, or the Boxing Day Tsunami.  For people caught up in those terrible events it must have seemed like the end of the world – certainly the end of their world as they knew it.

So what do we actually believe about "the last things"?  Perhaps at least this: that even if the world were to end by the extreme folly of humankind, via nuclear war or ecological destruction, we believe that, as in the past, life in and with God will continue.  Or as Question 69 in our Catechism tells us:

69.       What is the hope of a Christian?

The Christian hope is that nothing, not even death, shall separate us from the love of God which endures and prevails for ever.

Perhaps as we head into the Season of Advent there are two other general points worth noting.  First, there is an emphasis on God's timing throughout the New Testament.  Things (including last things) happen when God decides they will.  This is part of our understanding that God governs history.  Secondly, there is a time for judgment, vindication and accounting.  A moral universe, created and governed by God, requires nothing less.  And were that not so, there would be no need for Jesus our Redeemer to have come at all, would there?

Jeremiah.  Like most of the prophets, Jeremiah's ministry included dire warnings and wonderful promises.  Today he has a wonderful message of hope.  God has not forgotten the (historical) promise he made to King David.  One from his lineage will come to rule the people, and he will be a righteous leader committed to what is right and just.  Through him the country will be saved, and the holy city of Jerusalem made safe.

Taking It Personally.

·        Start by asking yourself what you believe about the "last things?  Do you believe in an ending of some sort?  If you were to learn (somehow) that the Return of Christ was imminent, would you be excited, terrified, disappointed, or none of the above?

·        In the light of this particular passage, reflect on the present state of the Holy Land.  Pray for the people of that whole area, Israeli and Palestinian, and particularly for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Thessalonians.  There is a strong case for believing that this is the earliest of Paul's letters that we have in the New Testament.  Today's passage outlines St Paul's prayer requests for this small, struggling faith community.  He gives thanks for the joy their faith has given him, and prays that it may be possible for him to visit them again.  Then he prays for them: for a deepening of their love for one another and for others; and for strength to stand firm in their faith as they await the return of the Lord.

Taking It Personally.

·        This is a short letter, and well worth reading in its entirety.  If you do that, make a brief note of the topics covered by it, remembering that Paul is writing to those who are still very new to the faith.

·        Reflect on the content of Paul's prayers in today's passage.  Use the passage as a guide to shape your own prayers for you particular faith community.  What sort of struggles is that community facing at present?  Pray for guidance and strengthening in dealing specifically with those struggles.

·        If the Lord were to return tomorrow and visit your faith community, what would you delight in showing him, and what would you hope he doesn't notice?

Luke.  It's important to read verses 1-24 of this chapter 21, and compare Luke's approach with the so-called "mini-apocalypses" in Mark and Matthew.  Luke's thoughts are clearly rooted in the Temple, and are shaped by his knowledge of Jewish history.  Only as he gets to verse 24 is there any real indication that he sees the forthcoming destruction of the Temple and the Holy City as being part of the wider cataclysmic ending of the old order and the inauguration of the new.  His view of the natural world being in upheaval is quite brief, and may be no more than a well-known image being used metaphorically, much as we might talk about an "earth-shattering" event, without actually meaning that the event shattered the physical world.  (However, it is a recurring theme in his gospel; see 9:26; 11:30; 12:8, 40; 17:24, 26, 26, 30; and 18:8.)  Moreover, he encourages alertness so that the people may be ready to take evasive action, again suggesting that he is talking about something happening on earth, rather than to it.  The important thing is to remain faithful, "able to stand before the Son of Man".

Taking It Personally.

·        Perhaps a good idea to start Advent with a careful spiritual stock-take; are you ready to stand before the Son of Man?  If not, what do you need to do to get ready?

·        A good day to remember the victims of earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes and super-storms in your prayers this week.

·        Pray to for the leaders of the world as another attempt is made to agree on measures that might help to slow global warming and reduce its damaging effects, particularly on the poorer countries of the world.