Luke 21:25-36

Luke 21:25 „There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the
stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring
of the sea and the waves. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding
of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will
be shaken. 27 Then they will see ‚the Son of Man coming in a cloud‘
with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take
place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing
near.“ 29 Then he told them a parable: „Look at the fig tree
and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for
yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you
see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is
near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until
all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but
my words will not pass away. 34 „Be on guard so that your hearts
are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries
of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap.
For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.
36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to
escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the
Son of Man.“ (New Revised Standard Version)

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