December 3, 2006 - Advent 1C Luke 21:25-36 - Stephanie E. Parker+


It's the end of the world, as we know it and I feel fine. Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives and I decline, it's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine...these lyrics are from a song by a band called REM that was popular a few years ago. And this song, I think, captures in a few frenzied words, the paradox of what the prospect of the "end times" really means for Christians.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the song, it has real fast paced, upbeat music that practically incites you to dance with abandon--- accompanied by words that contemplate the end of all things. It may seem odd to some to have such a wildly joyous rhythm accompany the words about the end of the world as we know it, but the mixture of a joyous beat with words about the end, capture the true tone of today's gospel quite nicely.

Today marks the first Sunday in Advent. Today we conclude the long season of Pentecost and prepare our heart anew for the coming of Jesus. Our Scripture this morning attempts to describe what it means to have God draw near. The pictures they paint are at once dark and foreboding and spectacularly brilliant and comforting. The day of the Lord is described as one of both judgment and of healing. It may indeed bring the end of life as we know it, but it will also bring an end to the suffering of the world. It is both a terrifying and exciting vision, isn't it?1

True, at first glance what we hear today in Luke's gospel is often the stuff of Christian nightmare-the bogeyman stories that the more fearful of our Christian brothers and sisters use to frighten their children. When taken out of context and fictionalized to horrific effect, it's the stuff recent authors like Tim LeHeye have made a fortune off of.

The passage from Luke does talk about the end of all things and the signs it describes as marking the beginning of the end are enough to make us pause. But we have to remember that these words were written in a literary style that has been lost to us and that the word "apocalypse" simply means, "to reveal."

In their original context these apocalyptic scriptures were meant to draw back the curtain on a sometimes violent and frightening world to offer the faithful a glimpse of the promise that there would be a day when God's justice and mercy would triumph over all the evil of the world and oppression and violence would be no more. That sounds like a pretty good Christmas wish doesn't it?

So, the real key to our gospel reading today is found in Jesus' words about how we should respond to signs of the end, "Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Jesus is once again, as he does often, telling us not to fear. While many try to take these visions literally and attempt to threaten us with sudden horror and destruction at the hand of God, this simply is not true and is born out of superstition and has nothing to do with the promises of our loving God.

The words we hear today do paint a picture of terrible disaster and suffering, but, the truth is that the world has never been without massive suffering or natural disasters - when these images spill out of our televisions and newspapers it might seem as though we are already in this great tribulation - as if it is the end of the world as we know it-but whether it is the end of the world or just one more natural disaster, Jesus teaches us that any end simply marks a new beginning.

So today, as we hear these disturbing words even as we begin to contemplate Christmas and the birth of that miraculous infant, Jesus, we are being offered another invitation as well. We are invited to set aside all of our horrific notions about the end of times and think about what the "end of the world" might really mean. What would the world be like after the "great travail" described in the apocalypse? What might it finally look like to be set free from the remaining brokenness of the world and for the kingdom of God to come once and for all?

Well, we can really only imagine what follows this world because as Paul says, we still see through the glass of God's glory darkly, with limited understanding. But what we do know, what Scripture tells us, is that when Christ comes again, there will be an end to the evil in the world. I've paraphrased some thoughts from commentator Hans King Ohmig that might help us to envision what a world with out evil would look like:

There will be no more hospitals, or ER's, or burn units, or rehab centers for crack babies. No more shacks, and no more slumlords. No more malnutrition and starvation. No more genocide, no more cancer, and no more AIDS. No more rich, no more poor. No more addiction. We won't have doctors and lawyers because we won't need them-we won't be sick and we won't be suing or getting sued.

There will be no more political parties vying for power while the middle class goes without health care and the poor are forgotten. As a matter of fact, since we won't be sick there will be no more corrupt HMO or PPO programs that try to cheat us out of the care we have managed to pay for. There won't be any money anyway so we won't need bankers or mortgages.

Under Christ's new reign there are no more taxes, no more governments, and absolutely no social injustice of any kind because of someone's race, gender, or sexuality. In this world there is no more sin or bloated self-righteousness about the sin of "others." We won't have jails because we won't have crime-no rapes, no murders, and no theft by taking. This means no more need for gated communities, burglar alarms, or locked doors. We'll see an end to holy wars, jihad, and crusades, terrorism and nuclear proliferation-there is no war at all.

Perhaps most surprising of all, there will be no Church. That's right--- no more sacraments, Sunday school or pledge drives. ***No more boring sermons.*** There will be no more committee meetings that drag on forever and no more clergy, or acolytes or lay readers to schedule. We will not have diocesan politics or denominations of any kind. Why? For the same reason that there is no Temple in the New Jerusalem.

In the kingdom come, with Christ as the "first and the last of all things" as the book of Revelation tells us, worship will not be just something set aside for Sunday morning. Instead, all that we are and all that we do will be an act of praise. God's love and power will be revealed in its fullness. We will no longer live by faith, but by sight-we will finally fully know God's heart and God's will.

Now, I must ask you, is there anything this vision to frighten us? Is this the great horror that the fearful want us to be warned against? And then the next question, ****can we believe this version of the truth as told in Holy Scripture over the one that has been fictionalized by false prophets and modern doomsday sayers? If we listen to Jesus we can.

As it says in today's passage, when we see the signs-whatever they are--- we are to look up in expectation---we are to look up with the same joyful expectation that enters our hearts and minds as we remember the joy of the first time Christ came to us wrapped in tender flesh and lying in a humble manger. What Jesus is saying to us today also tells us what we are to do in the meantime. All we are asked to do is live fully and faithfully into the time that is ours with hope and faith.

Christian hope does not trivialize the pain of the world; instead it is the conviction that no matter how dark or desperate our situation might be, in the end Christ will come again with his love and mercy. Faith is a way of life that trusts in God and understands that there is no darkness that cannot be quenched by the light of Christ.

This is the hope and faith that believes that in Jesus Christ, God came close enough to see, hear, touch, and bear our pain. This is a hope that sustains us in the midst of everything-in all of life-good or bad. Hope is our conviction and trust in God's unceasing love.

So, I'll say it again, "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine."

The Advent of Christ sounds pretty good to me. He came first as that precious child in the manger who would grow to heal the sick, eat with tax collectors and prostitutes and reconcile all of us to God once and for all.

And, some day Christ will come again and the evil that remains in this world will be no more and perfect love and merciful compassion will be our judge.

When these things begin to take place, stand up my friends and raise your heads, because your redemption, your freedom is drawing near...come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.


1 Carol Gallagher