Advent
is a season of the church year when we reflect both on Christ’s first coming to
the world and also his second coming. Thus, as we begin Advent and a new church
year, the lectionary has chosen a text traditionally associated with Jesus’
Second Coming, from Matthew 24:36-44. Listen for God’s word to you…
“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the
angels of heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the
Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the
ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them
all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the
field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding
meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you
do not know on what day your
Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in
what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and
would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be
ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
I say that this text was traditionally associated with the
Second Coming, and that is true. But in actuality, I think Jesus was talking
about something else.
The context for this passage is that Jesus has just left the
temple in Jerusalem and his disciples have called his attention to the
beautiful structure of the temple itself. In response, Jesus has just said,
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.
With these words Jesus predicted the destruction of the
Temple that would take place in AD 70 when the Romans came in and leveled the
city. Jesus’ disciples questioned him further about this saying:
Tell us, when will this be, and what will
be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
The word that the disciples use which is translated “coming”
is an interesting one. The word is “parousia”. This word was used within the
Greek-speaking Roman Empire to refer to a state visit by the emperor. It was
also a word used to describe when a god or goddess would do something dramatic,
like a miracle.
What the disciples had in mind was probably something like
this. They longed to see Jesus truly ruling as king. And they probably already
identified this event with the destruction of the temple. This was because
Jesus had already done and said things which indicated that he believed he was
the center of God’s healing and restoring work, not the temple itself. So, the
disciples saw the coming of Jesus as king, the destruction of the temple and
the ushering in of God’s new age as three things which would all go together.
Jesus agrees with the disciples, up to a point. The
destruction of the temple is going to be a sign of his vindication, for after
all, he has prophesied that it will happen. It will also be a sign of the new
age of the church being ushered in. But he tells the disciples: don’t be
deceived by all the would-be messiahs claiming to be me. He warns them that
wars and rumors of wars are to come. There will be famines and earthquakes in
various places. These are all just the beginning of birth pangs.
After all this will come a time of persecution for the
disciples themselves. In the midst of this, in the midst of false prophets,
apostasy, and the love of many growing cold, the disciples must stand firm.
They must stay on the job and take the gospel to all the nations.
All of this is Jesus’ prediction of what would happen within
that generation. In AD 68 Emperor Nero died. He was followed by four
contestants for the office of emperor fighting for control. The Roman Empire
itself was teetering on the brink of destruction. During that same period of
time Rome laid siege to Jerusalem. The siege lasted four years. Many in
Jerusalem died of starvation. Some people were even reduced to cannibalism. In
AD 70 the Romans finally stormed the city. Over a million Jews were killed in
the final conflict and 97,000 were taken captive. The Romans were so happy over
what they thought was a solution to the “Jewish problem” that they erected an
arch in Rome in honor of the conquering general, Titus. This destruction of
Jerusalem and all that went with it was what Jesus was predicting in this
passage.
Jesus goes on to warn his disciples that no one knows the day
or the hour when the destruction of Jerusalem is going to happen. Normal life
will seemingly continue right up to the last moment. Just as people were
“caught out” by the flood in the story of Noah, so it will be when the
destruction of Jerusalem comes. Two men will be working in a field, one will be
taken, another left. This is a reference to the invading forces of Rome taking
off one person to their death while leaving the other untouched.
At the end of Matthew 24, Jesus tells a little parable in
order to remind the disciples of how they should live as this tribulation
approaches. The meaning of the parable is that Jesus is going away, but he is
leaving the disciples with work to do: the preaching of the gospel. The point
of the parable is that they should continue on with their work regardless of
the tumult going on in society.
So, what is the message for us in all of this, if Jesus’
words were directed primarily to his disciples in the first century?
Though Jesus was primarily addressing the destruction of the
temple and of Jerusalem which would happen within that generation, Jesus’ words
have application to us today as we await his final “parousia”, his second
coming. Jesus has given us work to do: the communication of his good news in
word and in deed to all the nations. We need to be supporting missionaries who
carry the Gospel to other lands, and we need to share the good news of Jesus
with those in our own community. Whatever work the Lord has given us to
do—raising families, working farms, teaching school, whatever we do, we need to
do it well, to his glory. If we are doing that, then we will be ready when
Jesus comes again.
So, during this Advent season, we remember Christ’s first
coming and we prepare for his return. But there is also a third sense in which Christ
comes to us. Phillips Brooks talks about this third sense in his lovely
Christmas Carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”. In the third verse we sing:
How silently
how silently
The wondrous
gift is given
So God
imparts to human hearts
The
blessings of His heaven
No ear may
hear His coming
But in this
world of sin
Where meek
souls will receive Him still
The dear
Christ enters in
Christ came as a baby born in that little town of Bethlehem
2000 years ago. Christ is coming again in glory to judge the world and
establish his eternal kingdom. But Jesus can also come into our hearts whenever
and wherever “meek souls will receive Him still”. That is a “coming” no one can
hear or see, but it is real, nonetheless.
The story behind the writing of this beautiful carol is a
touching one…
On December 24, 1865, Phillips Brooks
was a half a world away from home and feeling like an older man than his thirty
years. Already recognized as one of the most dynamic Christian voices in
America, it was Brooks, only six years into his ministry, who had been called
upon in May to give the funeral message over President Abraham Lincoln. That
solemn honor, in tandem with leading the congregation of Philadelphia’s Holy
Trinity Church through the bloody years of the Civil War, had taken its toll.
Worn out and badly needing a spiritual rebirth, Brooks took a sabbatical and
left the United States to tour the Middle East. On Christmas Eve in Jerusalem,
the American felt an urge to get away from the hundreds of other pilgrims who
had journeyed to the Holy Land for the holidays. Although warned that he might
encounter thieves, the preacher borrowed a horse and set out across the
desolate and unforgiving countryside. For many peaceful hours he was alone with
his thoughts as he studied a land that had changed little since the days of
Paul and Timothy. For the minister, December 24 was a wonderful time of prayer
and meditation. At dusk, a sudden sense of awe fell over Brooks. Under a clear
sky, the first stars just beginning to emerge, he rode into the still tiny and
remote village of Bethlehem. He recalled the story of the birth of his Savior,
and by being present in the place in which Jesus was born, was able to add
vivid detail to the familiar tale in Scripture. The great speaker was all but speechless
as he considered the heavenly King, born in such modest surroundings. There, on
streets almost unchanged since biblical times, Brooks felt as if he were
surrounded by the spirit of the first Christmas. He would later tell his family
and friends that the experience was so overpowering that it would forever be
“singing in my soul.”
Three years after his visit to Bethlehem, Brooks wrote a
poem about the experience. When he finished writing, he hurried to share the
lyric with his organist, Lewis Redner, a man who had helped him grow his
congregation’s Sunday School from 36 children to 3000.
While reading the simple words, Redner
finally understood the power of what Brooks had experienced in the Holy Land.
To further share this message, the organist tried to compose music to accompany
the poem. For hours he struggled at the piano. Finally, on December 24, as
Redner went to bed, he was forced to admit he had failed… It was only in his
bed, long after he had given up his efforts, that the organist found an
unadorned and straightforward tune. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Redner
discovered the tune given to him in slumber perfectly fit Phillips Brooks’s
words. As if blessed by God himself, on Christmas morning “O Little Town of
Bethlehem” was complete. For the next six years “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
was a Philadelphia favorite… By the time of Phillips Brooks’s death in 1893, “O
Little Town of Bethlehem” had become one of the most beloved Christmas carols
in the world.
Phillips Brooks is now recognized as
the greatest American preacher of the nineteenth century. His first volume of
sermons sold more than two hundred thousand copies when released in 1878 and is
still read and studied today. There is even a building named for the preacher
at Harvard University. Yet it is the songwriter, not the preacher, whose work
millions now know and cherish. It is the simple language of a common traveler
in search of spiritual renewal that continues to touch lives today. In a sermon
Brooks once said, “It is while you are patiently toiling at the little tasks of
life that the meaning and shape of the great whole of life dawns on you.” On a
horse, in a tiny village, a half a world away from his home and family, the
meaning of Phillips Brooks’s life and the purpose behind his work were brought
into sharp focus. Since that time, millions have been blessed because of his
ability to share his revelation with the world.[1]
I love those words from Phillips Brooks: “It is while you
are patiently toiling at the little tasks of life that the meaning and shape of
the great whole of life dawns on you.” Just so, it is as we patiently and
faithfully toil at the little tasks of life, that we will be prepared for
Christ when he comes. And it is even in the midst of the little tasks of life,
that Christ can come into our hearts, even at this moment…
[1]
Collins, Ace. Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas (pp. 139-145).
Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
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