The End of the World as we Know It

Are you trying to scare us, Jesus? If so, you are doing a pretty good job. Surely there is more than enough for us to worry about, what with the daily struggles just to live. Do you have to go on and on about the “end of the world?”

Of course, to Jesus’ disciples, the end of the world was not as scary a prospect as it might be to you and to me. The expectation that the world would soon change was seen as welcome news, perhaps even exciting news. It would mean an end to Israel’s hardship. It would mean the ushering in of the new messianic age! The followers of Jesus, finally in Jerusalem, would have hoped for nothing less than this climax to Jesus’ ministry: God intervenes in history once again and installs Jesus, his anointed, to the throne of David. Years of longing would reach fulfilment.

The only question on their minds would be, “how soon?” When will these things happen? We want to be ready. We expect great things to come! We expect God to give us our due!

And can you blame the people of Israel? After all, the cryptic words of the prophets had been interpreted and reinterpreted over the many years. One claim after another to the throne of David had come and gone, and still, the people were left in what they thought was darkness. The expectations of an entire people lay squarely on the shoulders of any person who pretended to the throne. The field was more crowded than a presidential candidate slate in the U.S.A. None could claim the success of pulling the messianic sword from the stone.

So the eager disciples strained forward to listen, to hear the words that would help them to time the event. So ever since, disciples and followers of the Christ have tried to make sense of these words. Take, for example, a man I once knew named Paul.

Paul approached me when I was a green young intern, just halfway through my seminary education. He said he had been studying Revelation, Daniel, and certain chapters of Luke and Mark. The phrase “red flag” immediately crossed my mind, but I kept my mind open and agreed to meet with him. For protection I invited the congregation’s retired visitation pastor to join the conversation. Paul explained that he had spent a lot of time determining the time line of the events leading up to the end of the world and wanted to teach a Sunday School class on the subject. He felt that if people were properly prepared, they would greet the end of things with more joy and be ready for their savior to come.

I agree with Paul’s conclusion, though I disagreed most strongly with both his methods and interpretation. We should be prepared to meet Jesus’ coming with joy! But when we try to time the end of the world, we likely miss the point altogether and may indeed be caught unaware and unprepared. Since the season of Advent is one of preparation for the coming of Christ (preparation for Christmas is only a small part of that), we too turn our focus here, longing to know what might be coming.

And this text, taken by itself, might lead us to look for a cataclysmic set of events, disasters and hardships and wars. Interestingly, depending on what part of the world you live in, these events have always been within a generation or two of human experience, and yet, the kind of end that my friend Paul was expecting, that the disciples of Jesus were expecting, eludes our grasp if not our experience.

That is why we must see this text in light of God’s habit of coming in unexpected ways. It is a matter of time, after all. And I don’t mean that in the sense that we simply have to wait for it. Jesus is speaking in this text, not of things that God had not yet done (which we will see in the future) but rather about things that God is doing. The book of Revelation captures this sense of “God’s timing” in its first chapter, reminding us that this God is “the one who is and who was and who is to come.” It is quite possible that God does not experience time in the same way that we do.

And it is quite possible that this text is talking about time and place in terms that we might not always understand. Perhaps what seems immediate and rushed to God comes instead slowly, almost unnoticed by us. Perhaps what seems impossibly far away or invisible to us, is imminent and immediate to God.

The God Who Comes Deliberately

It is easy, during the Advent season to rush to Christmas, and mostly I avoid the temptation to do so, but in this case, I think it wise that we take a moment to reflect on the incarnation as a model for understanding how God comes. God’s intervention within our history came not in the form of some instant and cataclysmic happening, from our point of view. Instead God chose to come as we come, to be born as a child, to grow and learn as we do. This is not instant, but rather painfully slow, by our impatient standards. God insinuates his coming into our world, working slowly, carefully, and gradually. (Though, for all we know, instantly, from God’s perspective.) God chooses no easy answers or quick fixes, but rather a total commitment to humanity from its very core.

In the same way, God comes each day to us, through the working of the Spirit, in Word and Sacrament, making the ordinary extraordinary. This insinuation is imperceptible to all but the ones who are paying close attention. God’s love and grace continue to come and spread, sometimes in spite of appearances, sometimes through the very imperfect Church that bears Christ’s name and cross. Indeed God’s reign is near.

Given this past and present course of action, it might be wise to read this text from Luke’s Gospel the same way. God is near, nearer than we imagine, working through the very ordinary and common stuff of the creation, to insinuate his presence into our very lives and hearts, and in so doing is bringing about the fullness of his reign for all of the peoples of the earth.

Jesus warning becomes clear. Don’t spend time worrying about either the timing of God’s arrival or about the distractions of world that might consume our lives in the meantime. For God’s reign has already broken into our reality through the death and resurrection of Christ. It is near and it is coming, even as it is already arrived but not fully realized. Instead we are to remain watchful, and aware, not only to see but to participate now in the reign of God that is coming. We are to be prepared for the final coming, which is likely to arrive any time that God’s love is shared with uncommon grace in a world so desperately in need of that love.

Get Busy Living!

When I was growing up, it was quite common for me to be excited about visitors coming to our house, especially visitors with children about my age. When I found out company was expected I often drifted outside of our house, sometimes hours in advance, and began to watch for cars. After what seemed like hours (though in reality probably only minutes) my father or mother might have pity on me and invite me back into the house. Sometimes there were chores to be done: the setting of the table, decking out the patio furniture with cushions, dusting. Other times, I would be sent to find my brothers to play a game. Then, before I knew any time had passed, the company arrived, the house was ready, and the celebrations began. My parents may not have intended to do anything but keep me busy and out of trouble, but the message was clear: waiting went quicker when I was otherwise occupied.

The lessons of the season of Advent, and particularly our lessons today remind us that we should be about the same business in response to the news that God is coming. We should be busy preparing for company. This includes not only preparing our hearts but going about the business of life! And this, not just to pass the time, but to live as if the coming kingdom was already here as it surely is, though only in part. Thus we are busy living the future in the present. We love as God loves us. We are present for each other as God is present for us and with us. This is the true business of faith and life. Each requires that we be alert to and recognize the signs that God is indeed coming, always coming.

God’s Wondrous Movable Feast

But more than that, we also recognize that God brings with him a movable feast, a celebration that both anticipates and participates in what is to come. We, the ones who prepare for company, suddenly find that it is God’s banquet table set before us. We, who imagine that we are hosts, suddenly find that we are guests. We, who pretend this world is ours, suddenly find that it is God’s, to give to us extravagantly. We, who cower in fear at what is coming among us, suddenly find that in the midst of death and decay, there is God, creating, as always, new life.

And oh, what a feast it shall be! Our Lord Jesus at the head of the table, and all of God’s children, the great and the small, spread round to eat, welcomed at the Lord’s invitation. There we will find love and forgiveness complete! There we will find plenty to eat! There we will find, to our surprise, what has been hidden among us all the time. The one who came, who comes, and who is to come.

So let us lift our heads high, and wait, not with fear, but with joy. For the Lord is ever coming to us in love. Surely, he is coming soon! Amen, Lord Jesus, quickly come!

Rev. Dr. Luke Bouman, Pastor
Peace Lutheran Church
Austin, Texas
plcluke@aol.com