Advent: Peace

When we read of the Genesis account of God’s creation of the world, a Hebrew word, shalom, is used to describe the state of peace Adam and Eve were in. The root word means "to be complete" or "to be sound." They were at peace: with God, within, and with others. We often use the phrase, “It’s all good.” Well, it was. It’s a word that implies wholeness, completeness, unbrokenness.[1]

So, it’s a good start for the world. And then they lost it. #sin. Now, to quote Kenny Wayne Shepherd, “everything is broken.” Look what happens in the first few chapters of Genesis after the Fall: sin crouching at our door, inner turmoil, murder, a world in which everything is “evil continuously” (Genesis 6).

And here we are, thousands of years later, and we still feel the ripple effect of this. We live in a broken, sin-ravaged world. We see it in the news: the scandals surrounding World Cup Soccer; the turmoil in Ukraine; the exposure of sin in the church; the trials covering the sins of Hollywood. We see it in our marriages, families, work, friendships, and even church. We see it in the ways in which we deal with depression, anxiety, guilt, shame… The nursery rhyme was right: this world is Humpty Dumpty, and no kings or people will put it back together again.

When the angels appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus, they proclaimed a message of peace:

“Glory to God in the Highest; and on earth, peace to those on whom His favor rests.”  (Luke 2:14)

So what is this favor? And what is this peace?

The shepherds were probably watching a temple flock destined for sacrifice as they watched them from a tower called the Midgal Eder, the 'watchtower of the flock,' a lookout and a place of refuge close to Bethlehem for their flocks in case of attack. Shepherds brought ewes there to give birth. The priests maintained ceremonially clean stalls, and they carefully oversaw the birth of each lamb, many of which would be used in sacrifices.

So in one sense the thought that these shepherds were favored made sense. They were God’s people whose lives were being used to further God’s purposes in the world. But being ‘favored’ had not brought them the peace they were expecting. There was hardly a more obvious reminder than the palace that cast a shadow over their tower.

Herod’s mountain fortress, the Herodian,[2] overlooked the town of Bethlehem. The Herodian was built on top of an artificial mountain that Herod had created specifically for him. According to Josephus, there were originally two hills standing next to each other. Herod paid thousands of workers for years to demolish one of the hills and level off the other. He built his massive palace-fortress into the top of the remaining hill. This seven stories high palace contained a garden, reception hall, Roman baths, countless apartments, an enormous pool, a colonnaded garden, a 600-foot-long terrace. The buildings alone covered forty-five acres. The Herodion’s circular upper palace could be seen for miles and literally overshadowed surrounding villages.

• Herod made his name when he smoked out refugees hiding in cliff side caves, pulled them out with long, hooked poles and dropped them down the sheer cliff.

• Herod once laid siege to Jerusalem. The soldiers raped and slaughtered the women and children, and the Jewish soldiers were tortured and chopped to pieces.

• Hundreds of friends and family members and political rivals were tortured or slaughtered on the slightest of accusations. 

• Herod went to Jericho to die in agony, hated by everyone. Fearing that no one would mourn his death, he commanded his troops to arrest important people from across the land and execute them after he died. If people would not mourn him, at least they would mourn.

 It’s in this context that the angels said they were there to proclaim peace on earth to those on whom God’s favor rests. So what is this favor? Where is the promised peace? 

The Romans were still in control when Jesus died, and for a long while after. In the first century alone there was massive slaughter of the Jewish people during a rebellion put down by the Roman army.

Look at the life of the disciples. When you are run out of towns and sawn in half and crucified upside down, we wouldn't normally think about that as peaceful, and yet Jesus promised them, “Peace I give and leave to you – just not the kind the world gives.” (John 14:27) He follows that up with an encouragement not to be troubled or afraid – which suggests that troubling and fearful things would happen around them.

The angels and Jesus had a view of peace that is different from how we tend to think of it by wordly measures or standards (which just means that it’s how the empires train us to think about peace in distinction to the Kingdom).

Kingdom peace won’t be self-help techniques. I keep seeing the idea in Christian articles that psychological practices will bring the peace God promised. I just don’t see that in Scripture. I have nothing against different things we can do to focus our mind or calm our body – I’m not opposed at all to medication helping us when used properly - but let’s not confuse that kind of calm with the peace that passes understanding, the peace that only the Kingdom can offer.

Kingdom peace won’t be merely circumstantial. The Bible constantly talks about finding peace in the midst of the storm.  David is sent to the battlefield to check on his brothers’ shalom.[3] Jesus tells his followers that they will have trouble in this life, but they will have peace because God loves them.[4] This peace won’t be dependent upon what happens around but within those who have God’s favor. Though peacemakers as salt and light will bring a peacemaking presence into the world, it’s different from having the peace of the presence of Jesus of which the angels sang.

  Kingdom peace won’t necessarily be emotional. It may be, and it is indeed lovely when we feel it strongly. However, neither the biblical testimony nor 2,000 years of the church history has shown that followers of Jesus are guaranteed unrelenting mental and emotional health in the sense of feeling calm and collected all the time. I think biblically it’s possible to be at peace without feeling peaceful. And if that caught your attention….let’s go!

Here is my summary of what I think the Bible is revealing about the kind of shalom the angels announced: Kingdom peace arrives when whose I am clarifies who I am and reveals who you are. 

Let’s start with whose I am.

“God was pleased . . . through [Christ] to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through [Christ’s] blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:19–20).  

“ If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18) 

“To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13) 

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (1 John 1:3)

What is the foundation of peace? Reconciliation with God through Christ.[5] Peace begins in us when we are in right relationship with Christ.[6] The biblical analogy is that of being drawn into his family. Thanks to the work of Jesus, we are given the status of righteous children, which we could never earn on our own. This is whose I am. Peace, then is something much deeper and greater than the feeling of being at peace. Being at peace is a state, a status, a standing of righteousness before God and within His family.[7] No matter what happens or how we feel, we stand in a reconciled space. The foundation of my peace never shifts. The peace that Jesus has provided for us with God never leaves me.

* * * * * 

Peace arrives when whose I am clarifies who I am and reveals who you are.

How does knowing whose I am clarify who I am? Well, I now have a primary way of thinking about myself. I am a child of God, adopted into the family of the King, an heir of the spiritual riches of the Kingdom.

The fact that we as human beings are image bearers of God already means we have an inherent value, worth and dignity, but this is something more. This is a reminder that God gave himself in Jesus to save us broken, sinful image bearers, mend our broken peace, and proudly claim us as His own. 

No matter how I feel about myself, it doesn’t change the status I have. To use another biblical analogy, I am a temple in which God dwells. His Spirit lives in me, transforming, empowering, changing. I am not simply the sum total of my successes and failures, as if doing the math of my life = value. Something far greater is at work, and it is a far greater thing than any earthly things that are part of who I am.

There are lots of things that fight for the right to characterize us (another way of thinking about identity). There are the things that make us go, “Ah, so this is who I am.” We may or may not want to be known for them, but they feel so overwhelmingly a part of us that this is what it means to be Anthony (substitute your name here). You might think, “Thank you God for me! This is amazing!” or, “What is happening? Why is this me?” And when we arrive at conclusions about “who I am” in this way, we are in trouble.  

• It becomes easy to excuse our failures; we say, “That’s not who I am!” when everybody around us knows it’s exactly who we are because #experience.

• It becomes easy to magnify our successes; we say, “That’s who I am!” when everybody around us knows that’s not our usual self because #experience

• It becomes easy to identify with our failures; we say, “That’s who I am- a failure!” as if we are failures rather than being a person who sometimes fails.

But when we really grasp whose we are, we realize that none of those things are the starting point of who we are. We start with whose we are. We begin with, “God has claimed me as His own. How does God see me? How would God define me?” And when we are part of the family of God, that answer to who we are is simple: “A loved child of the King, an heir of the Kingdom.”

I think we all struggle, at least at some point in our life, with the question of identity. In our world we usually here these terms associated that with sexual or gender identity, but that’s just one way people work through questions about who they are or try to establish something in or around them which to orient their life.  But it all swirls around the questions of, “What matters in me, what characterizes me, and why do I matter? What is the True North in the compass of m life???” We do it with all kinds of things:

• Money (I am rich/poor, and thus I matter/I am a failure)

• I am a good looking human being (or an ugly one) and I add value to the world (or detract from it)

• People respect and like me (or don’t) so I must be a good person (or bad person).

• Look at my job! Only smart and talented can do this (or I’m dumb, and anybody could do this.)

• I have multiple degrees/ I can fix anything/ I am unusually strong and relentlessly healthy/ I am a great musician/I run a household that should be featured in magazines…

Please hear me. Success in these areas are not bad things, but they are foundations of shifting sand. They are part of you, but they are accessories. They may be wonderful, but they are not the core of who you are.

If you are a human being - rich, poor, beautiful, ugly, smart, dumb, strong, weak, sick, healthy, popular, lonely, depressed, happy - you are an image bearer of God. And if you are a follower of Jesus - rich, poor, beautiful, ugly, smart, dumb, strong, weak, sick, healthy, popular, lonely, depressed, happy - you are at reconciled peace with God because of the person and work of Jesus. You. Are. A. Child. Of. God.  This is whose you are. This is who you are above all else. [8]

* * * * *

Peace arrives when whose I am clarifies who I am and reveals who you are.

When Paul was writing letters to the start-up churches helping them to better understand the true message of the gospel, he wrote to the church in Ephesus, which was having trouble forming a church community with both Jewish and Gentile converts. Here we begin to see an explanation of peace that ripples out from us and into the world: 

“Remember that at that time you (Gentiles) were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For he himself is our peace…. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.  For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.“ (Ephesians 2:12-17)

The reconciling peace Jesus offers expands the family, reconciling us with those who feel “far away.”[9] God calls out the human barriers (the ‘isms’[10]) that divide us (Ephesians 2:11–22), dissolving the antagonism across those lines and giving us the resources to reconcile with others in unity and love through continual forgiveness and patience (Colossians 3:13–15).

We live in peace with others when we relationally enter into the “ministry of reconciliation” that God began in us (2 Corinthians 5:17-18)[11] And that peace happens when we are committed to paying forward the reconciliation God has given to us through Jesus.

Blessed are the peacemakers; they will be called children of God.[12]This is what it looks like when the favor of God rests on us, and the peace He offers to the earth changes the world for our good and God’s glory.

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[1] The Greek word for peace in the New Testament comes from a verb (eiro) which means to join or bind together that which has been broken, divided or separated. It’s where we get the word “serene” (free of storms or disturbance, marked by calm. https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/peace/

[2] Picture from Eitan Ya'aran.

[3] 1 Samuel 17:18

[4] John 16:33 – read the whole chapter for context.

[5] In both the Old and the New Testament, spiritual peace is realized in being rightly related—rightly related to God and rightly related to one another. From the Holman Bible Dictionary. “Peace, Spiritual.” www.studylight.org

[6] God, "Yahweh Shalom" (Judges 6:24 ). The Lord came to sinful humankind, historically first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, desiring to enter into a relationship with them. He established with them a covenant of peace, which was sealed with his presence (see  Num 6:24-26 ). Participants were given perfect peace (shalom shalom [l'vl'v]) so long as they maintained a right relationship with the Lord (see Isa 26:3; 2 Thess 3:16). https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/peace/

[7] “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Ro 14:17-note)

[8] I wonder if this is the “perfect peace” (or shalom-shalom) that brings “quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17) to those who steadfastly set their minds on God (Isaiah 26:3). (As noted by Tim Keller in “The Meaning of Shalom In the Bible”)

[9] There is a cultural/societal implication to this, but I don’t have time to talk about it today. “An end to physical violence. Shalom can include the end of hostilities and war (Deuteronomy 20:12; Judges 21:13),” but at least once in the Old Testament it’s peace when at war,[9] so it has to be more than that. “An end to oppressive injustice.  Peacemakers help to establish socially just relationships between individuals and classes. Jeremiah insisted that unless there was an end to oppression, greed, and violence, there can be no shalom, even though false prophets insisted there was (Jeremiah 6:1–9,14; compare Jeremiah 8:11)” Read more in Tim Keller, “The Meaning of Shalom In The Bible.”

[10] Racism, sexism, classism, etc. Differences that people use as an excuse to judge, divide, and oppress.

[11] Shalom experienced is multidimensional, complete well-being — physical, psychological, social, and spiritual; it flows from all of one’s relationships being put right — with God, with(in) oneself, and with others. (Not an exact quote, but from Tim Keller)

[12] Matthew 5:9

Advent Begins In Darkness (Isaiah 9:2-7)

Isaiah 9:2-7

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy ;they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.

4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 6  

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.  

He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

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“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Advent begins in darkness. 

* * * *

Hope is probably the key underlying theme in Advent – advent, after all, points toward the “arrival” of something or someone- in this case, offering hope in the face of evil that assail the world during what Paul calls “this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4).

In this sense, Advent is apocalyptic – a  “revealing” or “unveiling.” Unfortunately, apocalypse has become primarily associated with a terrible end to all things, but that’s not necessarily what the biblical writers meant when they used the word. Revelation, for example, is not an apocalypse simply because of what it says about the unfolding of terrible things in world history. It does unveil that, to be sure, but it’s an apocalypse primarily because of what it reveals or unveils about Jesus. In other words, an apocalypse may unveil terrible things, but it can also unveil wonderful things. In the Bible, apocalyptic literature like Revelation and Daniel does both.

So, Advent is about an apocalyptic time. The prophets in the Old Testament had ‘unveiled’ two things: what kinds of things God’s people did that was bringing judgment on themselves, and what a God of both justice and mercy was going to do about it.

The Israelites were God’s covenanted people; God had promised them that life lived within the framework of the covenant would bring great things. But they had a track record of remarkable disobedience, and they ended up living in exile in Babylonian.

Read Jeremiah’s Lamentations - or any of the Old Testament prophets, really. They unveiled the people’s continuing unfaithfulness to God and their covenant with God. There’s a gap of hundreds of years between the Old and New Testament where the Jewish people believed God was silent.  There seemed to be no hope.

It would have been easy to believe they had been abandoned by God: maybe he just wasn’t powerful enough to defeat the other gods; maybe He didn’t even exist; maybe he was angry beyond the breaking point. A God who existed and who proved himself a God without peers had promised not to abandon them, but despair can drive us to places where how we feel about life becomes confused with what we believe must be true about life.

This must have been a time when their faith was tested in ways that are hard to understand.  Or…maybe we do. It’s not as if followers of Jesus have stopped struggling with feelings of despair, abandonment, disillusionment, or loss of hope. 

But Jewish prophecy wasn’t simply about predicting something and then waiting for the fulfillment. It was often about pattern: showing how God has worked and is working so that the people will know how God will work. There was a constant uncovering of the eyes, constant apocalyptic glimpses of what is to come.[1]

The prophets made clear that their exile, and the silence of God for the centuries between the end of the OT and the beginning of the NT, was the reaping of what they had sown. God had told them what to expect if they broke the covenant to which they agreed. Now, they know He’s serious. And if that were the end of the story, that would be a grim story indeed.

But the prophets also helped them dream of a new world, a new way of life in faithful covenant, a time when a messiah sent by the God who had not abandoned them would rescue them from their unfaithfulness and exile. God was faithful with all His promises, after all, not just the grim ones. He had promised that they were His people and that He would be faithful - that, too, was unveiled.

Isaiah has pleaded, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down.” (Isaiah 64:1) And on the cross, there was indeed a rending – not just of the skin of the Savior, but of the curtain in the temple, decorated with stars to represent the heavens, the curtain the separated sinful, unwashed, morally impure humanity from the Holy of Holies.

The Messiah had come. Those who live in great darkness will see a great light. (Isaiah 9:2; Matthew 4:16) The hope of an age to come in which they lived in the light of God’s blessing shone with increasing urgency.

“Advent is a season of being caught between the way things are and the way they will be. Or, perhaps better said, between the way things seem to be and the way things really are. In other words, Advent is a season during which we long for apocalypse. But as the preacher of Hebrews reminds us, “Faith is the reality of what we hope for, and the evidence of what we can’t see.”  Advent is a season of faith. We light candles and trust that, as God has come before, so will God come again. We trust that no matter how dark the night, dawn is coming. We choose to hope. We choose to believe.”[2]

It turns out that the apocalypse is about a hope found in something beyond human history, something that is bigger than our personal or national cycles of optimism and despair. It is found in an incarnate God, one who arrives in the person of Christ (that’s the first advent), and one will return (that’s the second one).[3] During Advent season, we find hope in two arrivals: the one that changed history with a new covenant for His people, and the one that will wrap it up and make all things new.[4]

But we are in the middle of those two arrivals. And in that middle, it’s messy. And between the two bright lights of advent hope there are a lot of things that cast shadows. There are a lot of things that feel like exile, that feel hopeless, that cause us to question God’s goodness, or power, or existence. Advent season reminds us that we are asked to do something important:

“Stand a watch…as the ever-encroaching darkness draws near, and to ultimately give witness to the victory of light over night. And then to stand in its glorious beams and see all things be made new.[5]

Advent is about light emerging from darkness.[6] Advent is about the apocalypse, the unveiling of the truth about the world – which involves an honest look at not only the grim circumstances of a groaning world, but also the truth about the glorious Savior who has come to redeem and save.

“Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” This is as Advent a proclamation as I can imagine. We live in the ‘is’, between the remembrance of Christ’s death and the expectation of his coming again at the end of all things. This means we live in the fact of his risen-ness…We cannot always clearly see Christ, but knowing that Christ is risen means we can stand up and welcome Christ in the crisis. Death no longer has dominion over him. Death has no dominion over us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus—not the past, not the present, not the future. We wait for the end of all these things, but we look for Christ now, risen and gathering us for the end.[7]

We live in the ‘is’, between the remembrance of Christ’s death and the expectation of his coming again at the end of all things. I want to linger here this morning.

I read an article written by a Catholic who was acknowledging the terrible cost of the ‘apocalypse’ in the Catholic Church over the past few years, particularly the scandal of sexual abuse. He was noting the discouragement, disillusionment and anger in Catholics who were leaving the church. There was something about how he summarized it that has lingered with me.

“Some people can only handle as much as they believe they can handle, and it is no easy thing to stand where we are and watch darkness grow where the light is fading. It is unsettling, disorienting. Despite the risk of injury, we want to run, get away from the dark, because we can’t bear to stay within it. 

But that is what Advent is asking us to do: to stay. To stand a watch in the [twilight] as the ever-encroaching darkness draws near, and to ultimately give witness to the victory of light over night. And then to stand in its glorious beams and see all things be made new. 

And so this is what I want to say to my friends who have left, or who are struggling; those who are halfway out the doors, or think they soon will be: My dear sisters and brothers, Hold on! Hold fast, and don’t run at the revelation! Don’t try to run through the fearsome darkness! 

Stay for Advent and stand the watch with me, with your family, with all of us... Be willing, for now, to keep company with Christ, so deeply wounded by his own Bride. Consent, for now, to share in the hard times before us (they will yet get harder, the darkness will grow deeper, still) and help us to hold, to hold fast! 

Because the light is coming; the darkness will never overcome it. Remember that Isra-el means “struggle with God.” We are all little Isra-els right now, wrestling, wrestling within his house and seeking our Jerusalem, our Abode of Peace. Hold on! Hold fast! 

Because an Advent promise has been made to us, and God is ever-faithful, so we may trust in it: Your light will come Jerusalem; the Lord will dawn on you in radiant beauty. This is for all of us. It is for you, and for me. It’s for every little Isra-el struggling. Your light will come. Just hold fast.”[8]

 What is going on your life right now? What is your struggle, perhaps even your struggle with God?

Is politics or culture wars overwhelming you? Does every election now feel like an apocalypse in the Hollywood way, an unveiling of the disastrous end of all things? Do it feel like America or the church as we know it is being upended, or that the future will hold only pain? An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again, This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

Did you lose a loved one this year through death, or through abandonment, or through relational distance that feels like a death? Do you wonder if this grief and emptiness will ever end? An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again, This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

Is your mental and emotional health on the line? If studies and private conversation are indication, a lot of us are struggling with depression, loneliness, and anxiety. Especially as winter moves in, things can feel bleak and lifeless. We wonder when we feel alive again. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again, This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

Is your family in crisis? Maybe a few apocalyptic years have simply unveiled cracks in family foundations that had been easy to cover up. We wonder if what has been broken can possibly be repaired. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again, This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come. 

Has being part of church been hard? Have you been frustrated with the way the church is present in the world?  Have you felt like God’s people are unsafe, or unpredictable, or just frustrating? An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again, This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

I want to close with a famous Christmas song written as a result of the Civil War. It captures this in-between time, the reality of waiting in a life that is hard for a hope that is sure.

I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY[9]

I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come, the belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way, the world revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each dark, accursed mouth, the cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent the hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn the households born of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head ; "There is no peace on earth," I said ; 
"For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead ; nor doth he sleep!

The Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail, with peace on earth, good-will to men!"

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[1] “Advent, the Apocalypse: A Constant Uncovering Of The Eyes.” https://www.patheos.com/blogs/sickpilgrim/2016/12/advent-the-apocalypse-a-constant-uncovering-of-the-eyes/

[2] “Anna And The Apocalypse And Advent.” https://www.reelworldtheology.com/anna-and-the-apocalypse-and-advent/

[3] “Why Apocalypse Is Essential To Advent.” https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/december-web-only/advent-apocalypse-fleming-rutledge-essential-to-this-season.html

[4] “Advent Apocalypse.” https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/3388/advent-apocalypse

[5] “AMIDST OUR APOCALYPSE, ADVENT ASKS US TO STAY.” https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/amidst-our-apocalypse-advent-asks-us-to-stay/5962/

[6] This darkness to light motif is thick in Scripture. We see the glorious beams of light that shine on new things over and over. Creation.: “Let their be light” and there is light that shines in the darkness; It’s in a plague of darkness in Egypt, God shows his freeing power; on a dark and stormy mountain, God reveals his covenant commandments to His people through Moses; Jesus’ birth was at night, in the shadow of the Herod’s palace, yet the light of the star and the Resurrection happens at night, and is revealed in the morning. The disciples are fishing before dawn, and the Resurrected Jesus appears in the morning.

[7] “Advent Apocalypse.” https://www.mnys.org/from-pastors-desk/advent-apocalypse/

[8] “Amidst Our Apocalypse, Advent Asks Us To Stay.” https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/amidst-our-apocalypse-advent-asks-us-to-stay/5962/

[9] Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written while nursing his son back to health after a grievous injury in the Civil War.

Advent Ends In The Light (Isaiah 60:1-2)

ADVENT THEME: JOY

The candle we light for Joy is also known as the Shepherd Candle, because of the joy given to the shepherds by the angels (Luke 2:8-20).  When Jesus was born, it was announced as “good tidings that brings great joy.” Jesus was a gift of God incarnate that brought joy into the world; Paul would later write that joy is also a gift from God’s Spirit into us. Because of this, we can say that we are “full of sorrow, and yet rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10).  

Jesus once said, “You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:22) So if you were to ask me how to find joy, I would say that joy is given by God the Father through the Holy Spirit, but joy is found in the person and presence of Jesus. See Jesus. And that’s what we are going to do today.

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Advent Ends In The Light

December 20, 2020

I discovered chickens cannot see in the dark when I heard one of my bantams squawking loudly from the shed. When I went out, it was fine. It just couldn’t find its buddies, who were about 5 feet away in a part of the shed that was very dark. So now, during the day, I turn on a light. Happy chickens. My chickens need light so that the darkness does not paralyze and terrify them. Simple thing, chickens. Stay with me. I’m establishing patterns J

As a kid, I longed for light in the darkness. I was terrified of the night. I took a running leap into bed; I quivered under the covers. But turn on a night light or leave a door open so some light could get in, I was good. I needed light so that all the imagined fears that could take place in the darkness were dispelled by the light. 

When you have endured a week of gloomy winter, nothing beats a sunny day. I don’t care how cold it is. The whole world feels better. I’ve been known to roll my window down on sunny days when the temp is in the 20s. You start showering again, and think, “Maybe I should start exercising and not eat pancakes every day as a snack.” 

“Light to dark” is an image we know. It’s a pattern ingrained in so many things in the world. No wonder it’s a pattern we see in the Bible constantly, starting in Genesis 1, almost as if God masterminded the whole thing. J

·      The initial command “Let there be light!” was a hint: This God does not settle for darkness.When darkness settles on the deep, the Spirit of God moves.  

·      It was “while shepherds watched their flocks by night” that the glory of the Lord shone around them. This God will not be announced without dispelling some darkness.

·      When the Wise Men from the east needed a sign– the east, the land “East of Eden” (another motif from Genesis for those far from the presence of God)  - they were given a light in a dark sky to guide them to the Light of the World, “the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone.” (John 1:9)  This God will make a way for those who live in darkness. 

 Any advent or arrival in which God is involved may begin in darkness, but it ends in light. 

I am fascinated this year by how the Bible establishes the darkness into which Jesus arrived before introducing the light of his apocalypse (“unveiling”). I think it’s probably the case that our appreciation of the light correlates with how profound the darkness was into which it was introduced. Let’s see why God’s people longed for the light before the first Advent of Jesus, and then we will look at our own lives. 

Isaiah 58: A Timeless Oracle For The People Of God

Eternal One: Tell My people about their wrongdoing…hold nothing back: [my people] have failed to do what is right…They pretend to want to learn what I teach, as if they are indeed a [people] good and true, as if they hadn’t really turned their backs on My directives. They even ask Me, as though they care, about what I want them to be and do, as if they really want Me in their lives. 

People: Why didn’t You notice how diligently we fasted before You? We humbled ourselves with pious practices and You paid no attention. 

Eternal One: I have to tell you, on those fasting days, all you were really seeking was your own pleasure; besides, you were busy defrauding people and abusing your workers… Is a true fast simply some religious exercise for making a person feel miserable and woeful? Is it about how you bow your head (like a bent reed), how you dress (in sackcloth), and where you sit (in a bed of ashes)? Is this what you call a fast, a day the Eternal One finds good and proper?

This isn’t looking good at all. If I can summarize: “Hey, God! How are we doing down here? Check out our fasting!?”[1]  God: “It’s disgusting. It sickens me.” Okay…. However, Isaiah has what looks like good news: a solution!  

No, what I want in a fast is this: to liberate those tied down and held back by injustice, to lighten the load of those heavily burdened, to free the oppressed and shatter every type of oppression. A fast for Me involves sharing your food with people who have none, giving those who are homeless a space in your home, giving clothes to those who need them, and not neglecting your own family.

Excellent. There is a plan. There are action steps. And now, here comes some light!

Then, oh then, your light will break out like the warm, golden rays of a rising sun; in an instant, you will be healed. Your rightness will precede and protect you; the glory of the Eternal will follow and defend you. Then when you do call out, “My God, Where are You?” The Eternal One will answer, “I am here, I am here.” 

If you remove the yoke of oppression from the downtrodden among you, stop accusing others, and do away with mean and inflammatory speech, if you make sure that the hungry and oppressed have all that they need, then your light will shine in the darkness, and even your bleakest moments will be bright as a clear day...

That sound really good! But, uh, notice the “if”. If you do these things, your righteousness will be amazing. Let’s keep reading. 

Isaiah 59

Your persistent wrongdoing has come between you and your God; since you constantly reject and push God away He had to turn aside and ignore your cries... Their thoughts are bent toward injustice; destruction and trouble line the roads of their lives.8 They never travel the path of peace; no justice is found where they have been. They set a course down crooked roads; no one who follows their lead has a chance of knowing peace.

Well, I think that’s pretty clear. It didn’t happen. It looks like they can’t light up the world with their own righteousness. In hindsight, that’s obvious, but don’t we wrestle with that same sense of capability?  How many times do we think we can clean up our lives and this world on our own? 

·      “If you can control your attitude with the customers and get here on time, your job will be safe.” 

·      “Oh, yeah. I got this.”

·      ”If you can curb your addictions, your marriage will survive and maybe even flourish.”

·      “You got it.”

·      “If you can just bounce your eyes, that porn problem will go away.”

·      “Done.”

·      “If you figure out your identity in Christ, that depression, shame negative self-talk, anxiety, loneliness will go away.”

·      “Commencing self-help.” 

 “If…” It’s such a loaded word. “If you can do that, all will be well.” Isn’t this a lesson every Christian has to learn? If our righteous effort is what it takes to fix us, we are in trouble. The people of Israel figured it out. 

People: That’s why we can’t make things right; good and true can’t gain any ground on us. We look earnestly for a bright spot, but there isn’t even a glimmer of hope; it’s darkness all around. We are left to stumble along, grabbing at whatever seems solid, like the blind finding their way down a strange and threatening street.  In broad daylight—when we should have sight—we stumble and fall as in the dark. We are already like the dead among those brimming with health. We growl like bears and moan like doves. We hope that maybe, just maybe, it will all turn out right; But it doesn’t. We look for liberation, but it’s too far away.  

So far, it sounds a bit like complaining: “Do you see what you’ve given us to work with? This world is a hard and terrible place, and “we are left to stumble alone.”  But then there is a very important turn….  

For our wrongdoing runs too deep before You. Our sins stack up against us—sure evidence of our guilt. For our offenses are always with us; they are insidious and lasting, as You know. Our guilt says it all. We know it, too. We took You for nothing, and did just the opposite of Your commands. We broke our promises to You, ignored and rejected You.

We hatched up schemes to oppress others and rebel, to twist the truth for our gain while presenting it as honest-to-God fact. When justice calls, we turn it away. Righteousness knows to keep its distance, for truth stumbles in the public square, and honesty is not allowed to enter.  There is no truth-telling anymore, and anyone who tries to do right finds he is the next target.

Now, Isaiah steps out of the dialogue and makes an observation about how God responds to what started as a complaint and ends as a confession. I think this is key. What starts as self-justification – “God, listen, have you seen the kind of world you’ve given us?” turns into repentance: “Our sins stack up against us…we are the problem in the world.” 

It’s the only “if/then” scenario that has power. “If my people humble themselves and repent.” It’s not us fixing our brokenness. It’s us submitting to God’s work. back to Isaiah.

It’s true. The Eternal One saw it all and was understandably perturbed at the absence of justice. God looked long and hard, but there wasn’t a single person who tried to put a stop to the injustice and lies. So God took action. His own strong arm reached out and brought salvation. His own righteousness—good and pure—sustained Him.  But God’s equipment was that of no ordinary warrior: He strapped on righteousness as His breastplate, and put on the helmet of salvation. Wrapped in vengeance for clothing and passion as a cloak, God prepared for war.

Finally, God determined they must get what they’ve earned: fury to those who oppose Him, vengeance against those who are against Him. To the ends of the known world, God will go to render justice.  This is how people from east to west will come to respect the name and honor the glory of the Eternal. For He will come on like a torrential flood driven by the Eternal’s winds. The Redeemer will come to make Zion right again, to rescue those of Jacob’s holy line who turn their backs on wrongdoing. This is what the Eternal One declares.

Okay, that’s good news and bad news. The good news is that God is going to bring justice. The bad news is that His own people have been the problem. But…the good news is that He is going to rescue those who turn back to him – and He is going to orchestrate this.[2]

Eternal One:  This is My covenant promise to them: My Spirit, which rests on and moves in you, and My words, which I have placed within you, will continue to be spoken among you and move you to action. And not only you, but so it will be for your children and their children too.[3] And so on through the generations for all time.

And now we move into a classic paragraph that is often cited during Advent. 

Isaiah 60
Arise, shine (“be in the light”; “become light”), for your light[4] has broken through! The Eternal One’s brilliance has dawned upon you.  See truly; look carefully—darkness blankets the earth; people all over are cloaked in darkness. But God will rise and shine on you; the Eternal’s bright glory will shine on you, a light for all to see.

 It’s reminiscent of the end of Malachi: “ But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays.” (Malachi 4:2) 

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“When the prophet says that’ that light is come,‘ he… sees in vision the Messiah… as pouring the light of salvation on a darkened church and world.”  (Albert Barnes’ Notes On The Whole Bible) 

“In the midst of that distressing condition, Jehovah will arise upon Zion in the person of His Son; in Christ, the glory of God will be revealed.”  (Coffmana’s Commentary On The Bible)

Oh! This is fantastic news! God Himself will be the light in the darkness. 

It’s not just God moving into the world, but God moving into our hearts. Advent is more than an ‘unveiling’ in world history; it’s an arrival in our hearts. It’s personal. This is a story about light dispelling darkness, and that while that has profound implications for world history, it also has profound implications for your history. We are all coming out of darkness; we have all contributed the sinful brokenness of the world. Our wrongdoing runs deep too. But…..

Arise, shine, your light has broken through. The Eternal One’s brilliance has dawned upon you. 2 See truly; look carefully—darkness blankets the earth; people all over are cloaked in darkness. But God will rise and shine on you; the Eternal’s bright glory will shine on you, a light for all to see.

This is the joy of the first Advent. That healing and hope is available to all of us. 

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 But there is another part to it.

“…the church of God is… called upon to arise… [and] to shine forth in the exercise of grace and discharge of duty…and to diffuse this light to others…” John Gill’s Exposition On The Whole Bible) 

That summons ("Arise, shine!”) is the inevitable result of the dawning of the light. When God is felt to be near [people] in penitence, love, and prayer, [they are]… bound to reflect the glory which has risen in their heart; to bear witness of the light which has pierced and transformed their soul… The glory of the Lord manifests itself in life… It is because the ‘glory of the Lord has risen upon [them],’ that Christians are able to reflect the light which has entered their souls.” E. L. Hull, Sermons

After God was unveiled to the world in the incarnate Jesus, and unveiled in the hearts of those who repent and embrace him as Lord and King, God’s people are unveiled to the world. It’s not because we are amazing. Nothing changed in terms of our ability to light up the world with our righteousness. What changed was our identity. We are now children of God, temples for the Holy Spirit. I love how Thomas Coke, English clergyman, first bishop of the Methodist Church, phrased it: 

“Shew thy native beauty; suffer thyself to be so strongly illuminated by the glory of the Lord, that thou mayest be a light to others." [5]

I have this image of all the solar powered lights I have in my yard. They soak up the light during the day, so they can shine at night. And they don’t shine because they powered themselves up. They shine because the sun filled them with light. 

Do you see this? There is a third apocalypse, a third unveiling taking place between the birth of Jesus and His return. 

It’s his church.

Jesus is revealed through His church. “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and…..glorify your Father in heaven.”

So I am sobered and inspired this Advent season to think about how, between the first apocalypse in a manger that ushered in this present age, and a second that will wrap it up as Jesus is revealed as the Returning King, God plan was to have His Holy Spirit-filled followers be an apocalypse, an unveiling, that absorbs and points back to the light from the first one while shining and like illuminating signposts that point toward the second one. 

We have the light of joy because true joy entered the world through the birth of the incarnate Savior. We ambassadors, filled by God’s Spirit and nourished by God’s Word, soak up this joyful light until it lights the darkness with our words, our attitudes, our actions, our lives.  And we never stop telling everyone that He who has come will come again, and for those whom His light has filled, there will be joy unspeakable, and full of glory. 

Joy to the world. The Lord has come. Let every heart prepare Him room. 

THREE THINGS FOR PONDERING OR DISCUSSING

1. If seeing the darkness for what it is makes the light more glorious, take some time to reminisce on 2020 (and perhaps further back) and mourn the darkness. See it for what it is. Feel it. Don’t look away.

2. Now….what does Jesus offer? What is the hope in front of us? How do the first and second advents shine into the darkness? What is holding us back from ‘arising, and shining’?

3. Pray. There are times that seeing the light feels soooo elusive. “We look earnestly for a bright spot, but there isn’t even a glimmer of hope; it’s darkness all around.” If you are in a group, share stories of God’s faithfulness in your lives, times when the light that seemed so elusive did indeed break through.

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[1] Malachi highlights how much God disliked their sacrifices (Malachi 3).

[2] As Malachi 3: 6; 16-18. “Return to me, and I will return to you….  Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.  And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

[3] Malachi says something very similar in the final verses of the Old Testament. God will eventually turn the hearts of the parents to the children, and the children to their parents.

[4] “I am the Light Of The World.” – Jesus, as recorded in John 8:12

[5] 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Advent Begins In The Darkness

ADVENT THEME: HOPE

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.
4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor.

5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.  Isaiah 9:2-7

“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.”

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Advent begins in darkness.

Hope is probably the key underlying theme in Advent – advent, after all, points toward the “arrival” of something or someone. But hope is pale if it is not seen as an offering in the face of evil forces that assail the world during what Paul calls “this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4). 

In this sense, Advent is apocalyptic – a  “revealing” or “unveiling.” Unfortunately, apocalypse has become primarily associated with a terrible end to all things, but that’s not necessarily what the biblical writers meant when they used the word. Revelation, for example, is not an apocalypse simply because of what it says about the unfolding of terrible things in world history. It does unveil that, to be sure, but it’s an apocalypse primarily because of what it reveals or unveils about Jesus. In other words, an apocalypse may unveil terrible things, but it can also unveil wonderful things. In the Bible, apocalyptic literature like Revelation and Daniel does both. So, Advent is about an apocalyptic time. 

The prophets in the Old Testament had ‘unveiled’ two things: why God was angry at His people, and what He was going to do about it. 

The Israelites were God’s people; God had promised them great things. But they had a track record of remarkable disobedience, and they ended up living in exile in Babylonian. Read Jeremiah’s Lamentations - or any of the Old Testament prophets, really. They unveiled the people’s continuing unfaithfulness to God and their covenant with God. 

There’s a gap of hundreds of years between the Old and New Testament where the Jewish people believed God was silent.  There seemed to be no hope. It would have been easy to believe they had been abandoned by God: maybe he just wasn’t powerful enough to defeat the other gods; maybe He didn’t even exist; maybe he was angry beyond the breaking point. This must have been a time when their faith was tested in ways that are hard to understand.  Or…maybe we do. It’s not as if followers of Jesus have stopped struggling with feelings of despair, abandonment, disillusionment, or loss of hope.

But Jewish prophecy wasn’t simply about predicting something and then waiting for the fulfillment. It was often about pattern: showing how God has worked and is working so that the people will know how God will work. There was a constant uncovering of the eyes, constant apocalyptic glimpses of what is to come.[1]

The prophets made clear that their exile, and the silence of God for the centuries between the end of the OT and the beginning of the NT, was the reaping of what they had sown. God had told them what to expect if they were unfaithful. Now they know He’s serious. 

But the prophets also helped them dream of a new world, a new way of life in faithful covenant, a time when a messiah sent by the God who had not abandoned them would rescue them from their exile. God was faithful with all His promises, after all, not just the grim ones. He had promised that they were His people and that He would be faithful - that, too, was unveiled. 

Isaiah has pleaded, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down.” (Isaiah 64:1) And on the cross, there was indeed a rending – not just of the skin of the Savior, but of the curtain in the temple, decorated with stars to represent the heavens, the curtain the separated sinful, unwashed, morally impure humanity from the Holy of Holies. 

The Messiah had come. Those who live in great darkness will see a great light. (Isaiah 9:2; Matthew 4:16) The hope of an age to come in which they lived in the light of God’s blessing shone with increasing urgency.

“Advent is a season of being caught between the way things are and the way they will be. Or, perhaps better said, between the way things seem to be and the way things really are. In other words, Advent is a season during which we long for apocalypse. But as the preacher of Hebrews reminds us, “Faith is the reality of what we hope for, and the evidence of what we can’t see.” Advent is a season of faith. We light candles and trust that, as God has come before, so will God come again. We trust that no matter how dark the night, dawn is coming. We choose to hope. We choose to believe.”[2]

It turns out that the apocalypse is about a hope found in something beyond human history, something that is bigger than our personal or national cycles of optimism and despair. It is found in an incarnate God, one who arrives in the person of Christ (that’s the first advent), and one will return (that’s the second one).[3] During Advent season, we find hope in two arrivals: the one that changed history with a new covenant for His people, and the one that will wrap it up and make all things new.[4]

But we are in the middle of those two arrivals. And in that middle, it’s messy. And between the two bright lights of advent hope there are a lot of things that cast shadows. There are a lot of things that feel like exile, that feel hopeless, that cause us to question God’s goodness, or power, or existence. Advent season reminds us that we are asked to do something important: 

“Stand a watch…as the ever-encroaching darkness draws near, and to ultimately give witness to the victory of light over night. And then to stand in its glorious beams and see all things be made new.[5]

Advent is about light emerging from darkness.[6] Advent is about the apocalypse, the unveiling of the truth about the world – which involves both an honest look at the grim circumstances of a groaning world, but also the truth about the glorious Savior who has come to redeem and save. 

“Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” This is as Advent a proclamation as I can imagine. We live in the ‘is’, between the remembrance of Christ’s death and the expectation of his coming again at the end of all things. This means we live in the fact of his risen-ness…We cannot always clearly see Christ, but knowing that Christ is risen means we can stand up and welcome Christ in the crisis. Death no longer has dominion over him. Death has no dominion over us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus—not the past, not the present, not the future. We wait for the end of all these things, but we look for Christ now, risen and gathering us for the end.[7]

 We live in the ‘is’, between the remembrance of Christ’s death and the expectation of his coming again at the end of all things. 

I want to linger here this morning. 

I was reading an article this week written by a Catholic who was acknowledging the terrible cost of the ‘apocalypse’ in the Catholic Church over the past few years, particularly the scandal of sexual abuse. He was noting the discouragement, disillusionment and anger in Catholics who were leaving the church. There was something about how he summarized it that has lingered with me.  

“Some people can only handle as much as they believe they can handle, and it is no easy thing to stand where we are and watch darkness grow where the light is fading. It is unsettling, disorienting. Despite the risk of injury, we want to run, get away from the dark, because we can’t bear to stay within it. 

But that is what Advent is asking us to do: to stay. To stand a watch in the [twilight] as the ever-encroaching darkness draws near, and to ultimately give witness to the victory of light over night. And then to stand in its glorious beams and see all things be made new. 

And so this is what I want to say to my friends who have left, or who are struggling; those who are halfway out the doors, or think they soon will be: My dear sisters and brothers, Hold on! Hold fast, and don’t run at the revelation! Don’t try to run through the fearsome darkness! 

Stay for Advent and stand the watch with me, with your family, with all of us... Be willing, for now, to keep company with Christ, so deeply wounded by his own Bride. Consent, for now, to share in the hard times before us (they will yet get harder, the darkness will grow deeper, still) and help us to hold, to hold fast! 

Because the light is coming; the darkness will never overcome it. Remember that Isra-el means “struggle with God.” We are all little Isra-els right now, wrestling, wrestling within his house and seeking our Jerusalem, our Abode of Peace. Hold on! Hold fast! 

Because an Advent promise has been made to us, and God is ever-faithful, so we may trust in it: Your light will come Jerusalem; the Lord will dawn on you in radiant beauty. This is for all of us. It is for you, and for me. It’s for every little Isra-el struggling. Your light will come. Just hold fast.”[8]

What “is” going on your life right now?

Is politics overwhelming you? Does every election now feel like an apocalypse in the Hollywood way, an unveiling of the disastrous end of all things? Do it feel like America or the church as we know it is being upended, or that the future will hold only pain? We live in the reality of Christ’s risen-ness, which means we can stand up, rejoice and worship Jesus in the midst of any crisis. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again in a glorious unveiling of the return of the King. This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come. 

Is COVID scaring you, or frustrating you? Do the last 9 months make you question the wisdom of men and the godliness and faith of your fellow Christians? Does this feel like an apocalypse, an unveiling of the true state of the world and the church that brings you despair? Is it hard to see a way forward that involves peace and hope? We live in the reality of Christ’s risen-ness, which means we can stand up, rejoice and worship Jesus in the midst of any crisis. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again in a glorious unveiling of the return of the King. This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

Did you lose a loved one this year through death, or through abandonment, or through relational distance that feels like a death? Do you wonder if this grief and emptiness will ever end? We live in the reality of Christ’s risen-ness, which means we can stand up, rejoice and worship Jesus in the midst of any crisis. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again in a glorious unveiling of the return of the King. This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

Is your mental and emotional health on the line? If studies and private conversation are indication, a lot of us are struggling this year with depression, loneliness, and anxiety. Especially as winter moves in, things can feel bleak and lifeless. We wonder when we feel alive again. We live in the reality of Christ’s risen-ness, which means we can stand up, rejoice and worship Jesus in the midst of any crisis. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again in a glorious unveiling of the return of the King. This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

Is your family in crisis? Maybe spending more time at home has not been a blessing. Maybe politics and Covid have pushed you apart.  Maybe this apocalyptic year has simply unveiled cracks in family foundations that had been easy to cover up. We wonder if what has been broken can possibly be repaired. We live in the reality of Christ’s risen-ness, which means we can stand up, rejoice and worship Jesus in the midst of any crisis. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again in a glorious unveiling of the return of the King. This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

Has being part of this church been hard? Have you been frustrated with your church family here this past year? Me too. Have you felt like people around you just weren’t getting it!?!?! Me too. Do you wonder what 2021 holds for CLG?  Me too. We live in the reality of Christ’s risen-ness, which means we can stand up, rejoice and worship Jesus in the midst of any crisis. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again in a glorious unveiling of the return of the King. This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

I want to close with a famous Christmas song written as a result of the Civil War. It captures this in-between time, the reality of waiting in a life that is hard for a hope that is sure. 

I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY[9]

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men !

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men !

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men !

Then from each black, accursed mouth,
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men !

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn the households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men !

And in despair I bowed my head ; 
"There is no peace on earth," I said ; 
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men !"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: 
"God is not dead ; nor doth he sleep !
The Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men !"

THREE QUESTIONS

1. What kind of apocalypses have you experienced in your life? That is, times when God ‘unveils’ himself to you and changed your life?

2. In what areas of your life do you long for an apocalypse? “Oh, that God would rend the heavens and come down.” (Hint: might be good subject matter that guides how you pray for each other if you are doing this in a small group).

3. How might this change our lives if we genuinely fixed our eyes on the Two Advents instead of the darkness and shadows in which we live?

 ________________________________________________________________________________

[1] “Advent, the Apocalypse: A Constant Uncovering Of The Eyes.” https://www.patheos.com/blogs/sickpilgrim/2016/12/advent-the-apocalypse-a-constant-uncovering-of-the-eyes/

[2] “Anna And The Apocalypse And Advent.” https://www.reelworldtheology.com/anna-and-the-apocalypse-and-advent/

[3] “Why Apocalypse Is Essential To Advent.” https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/december-web-only/advent-apocalypse-fleming-rutledge-essential-to-this-season.html

[4] “Advent Apocalypse.” https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/3388/advent-apocalypse

[5] “AMIDST OUR APOCALYPSE, ADVENT ASKS US TO STAY.” https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/amidst-our-apocalypse-advent-asks-us-to-stay/5962/

[6] This darkness to light motif is thick in Scripture. We see the glorious beams that shine on new things over and over.

·       Creation. “Let their be light” and there is light that shines in the darkness.

·       It’s in a plague of darkness in Egypt, God shows his freeing power.

·       On a dark and stormy mountain, God reveals his covenant commandments to His people through Moses.

·       Jesus’ birth was at night, in the shadow of the Herod’s palace, yet the light of the star and the glory of the angels first pointed the way then illuminated it.  

·       There’s a fascinating story in Mark 5 where a demon-possessed man – bound in spiritual darkness – is the source of an unveiling:  “The demon recognizes his superior; in a Gospel that famously keeps the “messianic secret,” this is the first entity to identify exactly who Jesus is: “What do you want with me, Jesus Son of the Most High God?”[6]

·       The Resurrection happens at night, and is revealed in the morning.

·       The disciples are fishing before dawn, and the Resurrected Jesus appears in the morning. 

[7] “Advent Apocalypse.” https://www.mnys.org/from-pastors-desk/advent-apocalypse/

[8] “Amidst Our Apocalypse, Advent Asks Us To Stay.” https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/amidst-our-apocalypse-advent-asks-us-to-stay/5962/

[9] Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written while nursing his son back to health after a grievous injury in the Civil War. 

Roots and Fruits: 2 Timothy 3 (Part 2)

ADVENT: PEACE 

“...the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace (eirene) to those on whom his favor rests.’” (Luke 2:10-14). 

·      “peace, peace of mind… the health (welfare) of an individual.”  - Strong’s Concordance

·      eirḗnē –wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are joined together; peace (God's gift of wholeness).  - HELPS Word-studies

 _______________________________________________________________________ 

Roots and Fruits (Part 2)

 We are going to start in the book of Romans. 

 “ …to condemn the sin that was ruling in the flesh, God sent His own Son, bearing the likeness of sinful flesh, as a sin offering. 4 Now we are able to live up to the justice demanded by the law. But that ability has not come from living by our fallen human nature; it has come because we walk according to the movement of the Spirit in our lives. 

5 If you live your life animated by the flesh—namely, your fallen, corrupt nature—then your mind is focused on the matters of the flesh. But if you live your life animated by the Spirit—namely, God’s indwelling presence—then your focus is on the work of the Spirit. 6 A mind focused on the flesh is doomed to death, but a mind focused on the Spirit will find full life and complete peace (eirene)…. 

The power of sin and death has been eclipsed by the power of the Spirit. The Spirit breathes life into our mortal, sin-infested bodies… You live in the Spirit, assuming, of course, that the Spirit of God lives inside of you…. If the Anointed One lives within you, even though the body is as good as dead because of the effects of sin, the Spirit is infusing you with life now that you are right with God. 

 11 If the Spirit of the One who resurrected Jesus from the dead lives inside of you, then you can be sure that He who raised Him will cast the light of life into your mortal bodies through the life-giving power of the Spirit residing in you. (Romans 8:3-11, excerpted)

 “A mind focused on the Spirit will find full life and complete peace.” Why? Because the peace won by Jesus between unholy us and a holy God is perfect peace, a reality that goes much deeper than our feelings of peacefulness. 

We then live in that peace  - we “work out” our salvation into every corner of our lives (Philippians 2:12), like a baker kneading dough so that the yeast gets everywhere – as we walk in the path that the Spirit of God leads us. Fortunately, God’s Word clarifies that path for us.

We’ve been studying Paul’s second letter to Timothy. In it, he presents a pretty grim picture of what it looks like when people walk in the path of the flesh (which leads to chaos), and we are moving by implication to what it looks like to walk in the Spirit (which leads to peace).[1]

In the previous sermon we looked at 6 traits on the outermost bookends of this section. Today we are moving in a step to look at 6 more traits closer to the center. If I had to summarize all six, I would say they paint a picture of people who rebel against any kind of authority, restraint, or expectation that comes from outside themselves. Our contrast will be what it looks like to live by honoring the God-given authorities and boundaries in our lives.

1. rebels against parents 

This was a deeply serious offense in all ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures (see Deuteronomy 21:20 – 21).[2] While this was clearly about parents, for the Israelites, it was often broadened to mean those in authority in every aspect, specifically spiritual authority (I’m leaning toward this purpose here because another category is those who have no love for their family). How they responded to God-ordained spiritual authority had implications for they responded to God’s authority. HELPS Word studies puts it this way:

’Unwilling to be persuaded (by God), which shows itself in outward disobedience (outward spiritual rebellion).” – HELPS Word Studies

We often think of the foundation of spiritual authority in our lives as ourselves. “It’s just me and Jesus. Everybody else move away and let me figure out how to read this passage of Scripture, or apply it to my life.” That concept would have been unthinkable to the ancient Israelites and dare I say to the early church. There are spiritual authorities God has placed in the world, and God intends them to have weight in our lives. 

Now, are they flawed? You bet. Are we following mindlessly? That’s a cult, so no. But there is the Bible; there are the creeds; there is the weight of tradition; there is denominational or local church authority. In the Jewish culture in the NT, parents were also responsible for being sure the Law and the Prophets were taught to their kids. 

At the end of the day, we must own our spiritual decisions, but those decisions must be informed by the spiritual ‘weight’ God has ordained in the structure of spiritual authority. None of us think we are the ones who say, “Did God really say?” That’s what serpents whisper. But too often, our version is, “Eh, does anybody else really get to have a say in how I understand God, and His Word, and His world?” Because the answer is yes, they do. This has always been the case in biblical history.

So the opposite is the honoring parents/spiritual authority.

Meanings for honor in Scripture include the imagery of  “adding wealth” or “giving weight.” This is such a tricky topic, because no human being other than Jesus deserves the full weight of anyone’s trust. We could probably do a series on what honoring spiritual authority looks like, but I’m going to try to summarize it: God intends for us to be formed by the weight of the God-ordained spiritual authorities in our lives.

Are you familiar with 3-D presses? They take blobs of material and make something functional of them. Those blobs of material don’t form themselves. They achieve their form because something forms them. 

Unless we have been raised by wolves, we are inescapably spiritually formed by some sort of spiritual 3-D press. 

·      Paul told the Corinthians that he planted and Apollos watered (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). I would assume that means we all need planters and waterers in our lives. 

·      In fact, Hebrews 5:12 says, "you need someone to teach you". 

·      God created the offices and gives the gifts of teacher or elder or pastor to teach and shepherd. 

·      Leaders are expected to guide/protect/rebuke, which implies that people are to listen for their benefit and because God said to.

We go through a spiritual press. Sometimes it’s not of our choosing; sometimes it is. When you come to this church or any other church, when you fill yourself with a teacher online, when you join a small group, you are submitting yourself to the pressing process. Something will be formed on the other side. 

This is God’s plan. Embrace it with wisdom and proper discernment.

Choose your spiritual formation wisely, and then let it do its work. 

* * * * * 

2. ungrateful

ungrateful/ungraceful – “properly, without God's grace (favor) which results in unthankfulness (literally, "ungraceful"). – HELPS Word Studies

 In a culture that expected those who were given gifts to repay these gifts with honor, those who were ungrateful were really looked down upon.[3]

To the original writers and readers of Scripture, while gifts (such as grace) could not be earned, they must be responded to. The giver does not function as if there are relational strings attached; however, the receiver does. The recipient of a gift was in the debt of the one who gave them a gift. And the bigger the gift, the bigger the response owed.[4] So if someone gave their life for you….  This is sometimes referred to as Life Debt, a trope that shows up in a LOT of stories, like 3:10 to Yuma.[5]

The grateful respond to a gift with a gift in some fashion. The Roman writer Seneca used an image of throwing a ball. You need a thrower (the giver) and a catcher (the receiver) who then throws and the other catches, etc. The goal is to keep the ball in the air.  Paul seems very comfortable building on this virtuous reciprocal obligation[6] in a gift economy between people. In the NT church, the koinania relationship was one of giving and receiving. It’s a rhythm of life designed to foster relationship based on giving and responding with gratitude, then giving and responding with gratitude... (Philippians 2:30, 4:15; Romans 15:27; 1 Corinthians 9:11). To be clear:

·      If I wait until someone has earned a gift from me, that’s too late. It’s a gift, not a payment for services rendered.  

·      If I give something back to prove I was worthy of a gift in the first place, I have missed the point and insulted the grace of the giver. 

·      If I give something bigger back to show the other gift up, or to coerce an even bigger gift, then I’m a jerk, and the relationship is going to be in trouble. 

The basic idea is this: gratefulness is not just a feeling, it’s an act. It’s how relationship is built. You give me a compliment about my beard, an act of grace to be sure; I compliment you next Sunday on your taste in Michigan football teams, which is also an act of grace. The point is that I remember the gift you have given and I look forward to reciprocating in some fashion.  You were kind; I will be kind. You ‘saw’ me; I will ‘see’ you. It’s how relationships work. This ‘gift economy’ is meant to be the transactional relational language of the church. 

* * * * *

3. unholy

“A lack of reverence for what should be hallowed.” – HELPS WORD STUDIES

 There are verses that warn us not to give that which is holy to the dogs, or the pigs (Matthew 7:6), images in that culture of filth and degradation. So, what ought to be hallowed treated with reverence, or set apart as holy?

·      God, clearly. 

·      People (who are all image bearers (Genesis 1:26-27, 5:1-2); followers of Jesus are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3 and 6)

I think those two are obvious. But….what should be “set apart” in the lives of believers committed to holiness? What should be viewed or appreciated or used in such a way that it God, people and all of God’s created world are honored and treated with appropriate care and reverence? Everything.[7]

* * * * *

4. without restraint 

“Incontinent.—Having no control over the passions or urges – emotions, words, appetites of all kinds.” (HELPS WORD STUDIES)

 This image is literally that of one who cannot control the kind of bodily functions that expel waste. If you have experienced this, you know it’s embarrassing and frustrating. How odd that we live in a world that often glorifies moral incontinence, the uncontrolled unleashing of passions and urges. It’s the desire to live like a moral animal, a slave to instincts and hungers and lusts (but now I’m ahead of myself). 

The opposite is temperate or restrained. It’s a blessing to be able to restrain when and how our body expels waste. Is it not also a blessing to be able to restrain the potential of our lives to expel moral waste? Sometimes, when it comes to physical incontinence, we can genuinely say, “I couldn’t help myself.” Christian brothers and sisters, with the exception of the kind of damage to our bodies that deeply harms our body’s God-given restrainers (like a TBI or significant developmental disorders) we cannot say “I can’t help myself” when it comes to the words that come out of our mouths, or the attitude we unleash, or any urge to follow our immoral instincts, hungers or lust. We have the Holy Spirit. One of the fruits is self-control. God helps us in those moments we cannot help ourselves. 

When we say, “I shouldn’t have said that or posted that or looked at that, but I just couldn’t help myself,” we are liars. We have a form of godliness but are denying its power. Between the Holy Spirit, the guidelines of God’s Word, and the company of God’s people, there is no temptation to sin that we cannot bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). That is good news, indeed.  God has equipped us to live in a community where were are tempered by the power of God to the glory of God.

* * * * *

5. savage (bestial)

Fierce.—Inhuman, savage, or merciless, harsh, cruel. They are both soft and hard, incontinently indulging themselves and inhuman to others,[8] when they should be hardened to self-indulgence and soft toward others.” (Pulpit Commentary)[9]

This is actually a thread that runs throughout the Bible: will we be molded into the image of beasts, or of God? Will we find more affinity with animals or people? The opposite is hospitable (merciful), or “soft toward others.” 

I know. We live in a culture where “soft” implies “weak” and nobody wants to be weak. Don’t tread on me!

·      Yet God is describes as “abounding in mercy.”[10]

·      Jesus told people to learn what it means that God desires mercy more than sacrifices (Matthew 9:13). 

·      I read blessed are the meek and the peacemakers (Matthew 5). Greater love has no one more than laying down your life (John 15:13). Serve others sacrificially.[11] Turn away wrath with a soft answer (Proverbs 15:1). 

·      Overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). If someone strikes you or takes your cloak, don’t seek revenge (Luke 6:29). Shame them with kindness (Romans 12:20). Give food and water to your enemy, and the Lord will reward you. (Proverbs 25:21-22)

 May God give us the strength to be weak in the eyes of the world so that the strength of God is highlighted and His mercy is made manifestly clear in His merciful people. 

* * * * *

6. haters of anything good[12]

“Despisers of those that are good; that is, hostile to every good thought and work and person.” – HELPS Word Studies

 This is a terrible summary of what we have covered so far. The opposite, of course, is lovers of Good (good thoughts, actions and persons), the beautiful opposite. The things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report (Philippians 4:8), we not only dwell on them, we celebrate them everywhere we see them. 

* * * * *

So, back to peace.  

 “The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:18). That’s first of all God to us, then us to others, and God has shown us how to do and empowered us to do it. “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Romans 14:19). That’s the goal as we live together in church. 

THREE QUESTIONS

1. What does it look like for you to “work out your salvation” into every corner of your life? (By the way, that’s a way of understanding that passage the a preacher I respect recently introduced to me. It has different implication than ‘figure out and own your faith for yourself when you get saved,” which is how I’ve often understood it.)

2. What would it look like if we in the church really embraced the idea of “gift economy’ as a foundation of relationships? How might church life change, and how might it stay the same?

3. Biblically speaking, what characterizes solid spiritual ‘parents’? What does it look like to ‘give them weight’ in our lives without putting them on a pedestal or moving toward cult-like mindless obedience?

__________________________________________________________________________

[1] 2 Timothy 3:1 And know this: in the last days, times will be hard. 2 You see, the world will be filled with narcissistic, money-grubbing, pretentious, arrogant, and abusive people. They will rebel against their parents and will be ungrateful, unholy, 3 uncaring, coldhearted, accusing, without restraint, savage, and haters of anything good. 4 Expect them to be treacherous, reckless, swollen with self-importance, and given to loving pleasure more than they love God. 5 Even though they may look or act like godly people, they’re not. They have the outward form and look of godliness, but by their lives they deny God’ power. I tell you: Stay away from the likes of these. Keep them away from your people. 

[2] NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible

[3] NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible

[4] To whom much is given, much is required. There is a reason why “presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice” is a “reasonable act of service” (Romans 12:1). But since this passage is about life together with those around us, let’s focus there. 

[5] https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IOweYouMyLife. It’s why Friday serves Robinson Crusoe, it’s all over Harry Potter, it’s in the Chronicles of Narnia and the Silmarillion, Star Wars, Mulan, Toy Story 2….

[6] There is a fascinating chapter called “Strings Attached: Paul and Seneca On The Modern Myth Of The Pure Gift,” by David Briones, in a fascinating book called Paul And The Giants Of Philosophy (IVP Academic). In it, Briones unpacks the idea of the ‘gift economy’ in the ancient world that flourished with virtuous reciprocal obligation and other-oriented self-interest, both of which show up in Paul’s writings and would have been fundamental in the early church’s understanding of how to respond to the grace received from God and others.

[7] “Disobedient to parents… with ‘unthankful, unholy,’ makes another triad: breakers of the fifth commandment (father and mother) go on to be breakers of the tenth (don’t covet); and thus throwing aside the second table go on to throw aside also the first…  The word for ‘unthankful’ occurs elsewhere only Luke 6:35 in the Sermon on the Mount. For ‘unholy’ see notes on 1 Timothy 1:9. – Cambridge Bible For School And Colleges

[8] Jameison-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

[9] “Fierce (from ferns, wild, savage); ἀνήμεροι; only here in the New Testament, and not found in the LXX., but frequent in the Greek tragedians and others, of persons, countries, plants, etc.; e.g., "Beware of the Chalubes, for they are savage (ἀνήμεροι), and cannot be approached by strangers" (AEschylus, 'Prom. Vinct.,' 734, edit. Scholef.). It corresponds with ἀνελεήμονες, unmerciful (Romans 1:31).”

[10] https://www.openbible.info/topics/gods_mercy

[11] https://counselingoneanother.com/2016/06/17/the-joy-of-sacrificial-service/

[12] “Incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good;  vicious or uncontrollable, unapproachable, unkindly to all good, a… triad, in which the characters of the libertine, the churl, the worldling are painted. The three words occur nowhere else in N.T. But the exact opposites are found together in Titus 1:8, ‘temperate, a lover of hospitality, a lover of good.’ – Cambridge Bible For Schools And Commentaries