December 16th, 2023
Scripture
“As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. Then he asked them, ‘You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’
When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Messiah!” and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.
‘Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But anyone who endures to the end will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.”
--Matthew 24:1-14
Welcoming the End
It’s the end of the world as we know it, but do we feel fine? We hardly expect to encounter these kinds of images as we enter into Advent, but it begs the question: “What images do we expect?” As a Christian understanding of Christmas does not involve reindeer, old men shimmying down chimneys, or chestnuts roasting on an open fire, what should we expect to find as we approach the season?
As we move through this season of expectation what can we expect? Jesus tells us to expect the end of the world. Jesus wants us to be prepared that everything we know must change with his arrival. Our edifices and monuments must crumble as we calculate the cost of his coming. Is it a price we are willing to pay? What comes after the permanent evaporates?
Committing ourselves to the Way of Christ requires nothing less than our surrender to a world order that is new and is based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is an order that is based on the two great commandments that we put nothing before God and we give ourselves sacrificially to one another in love. In Advent. we are called to pause and consider not only the mystery that is coming at Christmas, but also the present reality. This reality we are called to contemplate makes clear that the Kingdom of God coming on earth will result in heartache, headaches, and heartburn.
Advent is seldom seen for what it is: a time to clear out the coffers of our hearts so that Christ can enter in. The apocalyptic edge to Advent needs to be understood for what it truly is: a reckoning; a remaking; a renewing. For Christ to enter into our world, things must change. Change is seldom easy and absent of conflict or hardship. Sometimes accepting Christ upends everything. Multiple times in scripture, Jesus acknowledges his presence is confounding. Our Baptismal Liturgy illustrates perfectly that life has to change drastically upon entering into the Christian life. Ergo (I couldn’t resist), it is very much the end of the world as we know it.
But thanks be to God for it.
For in accepting Christ, I can love my neighbor with the might of my love, augmented by his love. I can extend life-changing grace to others because of what has been poured into my life. Just the consequences of accepting Jesus are cataclysmic, surely are the effects upon the lives of others. When done well, the world ending love of Jesus for us, ends the worlds of others and suddenly we find ourselves dwelling in the reality of God’s kingdom-come on earth; a fulfillment of that for which we pray. Our own monuments of ego, ambition, self-importance, and arrogance are swept aside, and the eternal breaks through.
But only, if we are willing to let our world end. “E’en so, come quickly Lord Jesus.”
The Rev Tyler Richards