It is Advent. A time in the church when we prepare, we wait, we expect something amazing. I find this funny because I am always expecting something amazing from God. Everything that God does amazes me. Bringing hope from despair, bringing laughter from tears, loving a dirtbag like me, and the most amazing thing, bringing life from death! Everything God does is amazing! But being so close to Christmas, everyone wants to sing Christmas carols. "We want to get into the Christmas spirit now instead of during the season of Christmas," is what I hear. The season of Christmas in the church is the time between Christmas and Epiphany. Those 12 days between December 25th and January 6th. That is when the church says to sing all those favorite hymns. Advent is a time to prepare for the coming. The coming of Jesus as God in the flesh, Immanuel, Mighty God! But, I guess I am no different, so in my churches, I sing a few Christmas hymns to help people get in the mood.
The first week of Advent we are asked to reflect on the coming of Jesus at the end of time, when the parousia happens. Have you ever noticed that fundamentalist evangelical Christianity talks about the second coming as a two fold return. First, Jesus comes and "raptures" the believers and then comes again after the "great tribulation" for the "Great White Throne Judgement." But here is a surprise for most people, the words "second coming" never occur in the entire bible! What fundamentalists desire, the Second Coming, is never spoken in the scriptures! It is simply the coming, the parousia! And it is to the Earth that the coming happens! Holy Cow!!
The coming is spoken of, and we get to see and know, we get to look and know. That is what Luke states. We Look and Know the kingdom of God is at hand. The kingdom is not far off, it is here and now. The kingdom is a participatory event! We get to participate in it most surely when we feed that hungry child at our "poor shelter" in town, when we give our clothes to the Salvation Army second hand store, when the hooker and the pious people sit at the same table, when God's ways become the way the people of the world live by instead of war and capitalism and rich getting more and poor getting less, when we sacrifice our desires for the ways of God! The veil between our world and God's kingdom becomes transparent during these times and when we pray,and when we worship, and when we eat and drink at the table of God!
The Kingdom is not too far off. The coming is at hand! Look and Know!
No comments:
Post a Comment