Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm
25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36
I cannot resist this one stupid joke. Today’s
readings invite us to be alert. It must be because the world needs more lerts.
I am planning this Advent to highlight a person or
two each week. Next week it will be Zechariah and Elizabeth. The week after
that, it will be John the Baptist, their son. The fourth week it will be Mary
and Joseph.
This week it is Jesus as the Son of Man. Jesus, the
Son of Man, is glorious, loving, awesome, powerful. Jesus, the Son of Man, will
come and redeem us from all the distress caused by the signs of his coming.
When he comes, we are to stand up straight and raise our heads in joyful
expectation.
We could spend a lot of time speculating on the
timing of Jesus’ coming. The first Christians thought it was going to happen in
their lifetimes. Many today believe it is a cosmic event in the future –
tomorrow, or soon, or in 50,000 years. Many today believe the coming again of
Jesus occurred with the coming of the Holy Spirit; they believe that his coming
again happens every time we sense God’s Spirit within and between and among us.
But, Jesus warns against speculating on God’s timing and instead calls us to be
alert to the possibilities of each day.
So, we’ll spend the time thinking about the
meaning of the coming of Jesus, the Son of Man. By the time the Gospel of Luke
was written, believers were dying, and Jesus had still not come as he promised –
in their lifetimes. Just as the first Christians had to figure out what to do
since they were still waiting, we too must discern how to live in the meantime.
There’s a saying: “Jesus is coming. Look busy.”
There’s a song: “You better watch out, you better
not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why. Santa Claus is coming to
town.”
The intention of these sayings is to have us bow
down in perfect obedience. “Look busy,” and “you better watch out” both cause
us to be afraid of making mistakes. If we are not busy, if we are not careful,
there will be punishment. Jesus will not like us; Santa will bring us fewer
toys, or give us lumps of coal in our stockings.
Paul tells us to strengthen our hearts and be
blameless before the Lord. At first glance, this sounds like the same thing: be
perfect, be 100% perfect. But there’s a difference. Because of Jesus’ death and
resurrection, perfect obedience to the rules is not important. God’s grace makes
us perfect, so we can strengthen our hearts – be encouraged. Out of gratitude
for God’s grace, we try to pass on that grace to others.
In the ancient world, people bowed before those
who were more important than they were. In some cases, they bowed the head. In
other cases, they knelt on the ground, and touched their foreheads to the
ground as well. (Think: the children in The
King and I) And sometimes, they prostrated themselves, laying their bodies
flat on the ground. This bowing is a sign of respect and reverence, and sometimes
fear.
Today, many pastors invite us to “bow in prayer,”
as a sign of our reverence and respect for God who is so much greater than we
are. In contrast, Jesus tells us in this passage to not bow in fear but to
stand up and raise our heads. In this way we can watch for what God is doing in
our very presence.
In the last week or so, Mike and I watched a
Hallmark movie. In the story, a young woman named Krissy Kringle finds a book
with the title “Naughty or Nice.” She wonders if it is really Santa’s official
naughty or nice list. The book seems empty until she says the name of a person
who has just done something “naughty.” She looks in the book and finds
confirmation that the deed was in fact on the naughty list. Towards the end of
the movie, Krissy realizes that the book also lists nice deeds, and they far
out-weigh the naughty ones. Krissy begins to understand that people are not
only naughty or nice, but both, at the same time.
Doesn’t that sound just like a Lutheran
theological point – we are saint and sinner at the same time, all the time. We
are all sinners, and we are all forgiven by God’s grace. Jesus, the Son of Man,
came into the world so that all people could have a better understanding of
God’s heart, of God’s willingness to forgive.
Advent is a time to remember that the baby Jesus who
was born in Bethlehem and laid in a humble feeding trough is the same Jesus who
was arrested, tried, and crucified; and the same Jesus who was raised from
death and ascended to heaven; and the same Jesus who comes again whenever we
love each other in Jesus’ name; and the same Jesus who comes with power and
glory as the Son of Man; and the same Jesus who makes us perfect in God’s eyes.
Let us not bow before him in fear, but stand with
our heads raised so we can be alert to what he is doing in our midst today.
This week, I invite you to watch for signs of the Son of Man in your life.
Watch for his glory and his grace in your life and in the lives of those you
encounter.
Here’s an example. Steve and Teresa are the owners
of the Cowboy Café, the new restaurant across the street. Steve is not shy
about being a Christian, but he is not pushy about his own faith. Some diners
at a table near me asked him which church he attended, and he identified one
down the street.
Then he went on to add, there are several other
churches on this road, and named them, including Hope. He invited the diners to
check them all out and see which one seemed to suit them best. After the folks
left, he came and chatted with me about what he had said to the other folks. We
both agree that no matter how we choose to worship, it is the same Jesus we
worship, it is the same Son of Man who came to make us perfect, and to offer us
all God’s grace.
This Advent, there is no reason to pretend to be
busy; there is no reason to watch out; Jesus is coming to remind us of God’s
amazing grace and love, which shows up in the most surprising places.
Please pray with me: Lord Jesus, we wait and watch
for you, especially this time of the year. Help us to see you, not in the
things we do or the things we make or the things we buy, but in the people
around us. Teach us to walk with our heads held high and to remember that you
love us and forgive us, and give us grace we don’t deserve. Amen
