Living in the in between
First Sunday in Advent
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25: 1-10
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36
If you have read even a little bit of the Bible, you begin to realize that time how we humans experience it, and time as God experiences it are very different things. We live in time, God lives outside of it. I don't know about you, but I have an extremely difficult time trying to imagine what living outside of time would feel like. Frankly, I just cannot do it.
These two very different ways of viewing time are what we bump up against when we read the lectionary passages for the day. Jeremiah foretells the coming Messiah... the righteous Branch will spring up. That part is pretty clear, but then at the end of the passage, it goes onto say that Judah and Jerusalem will live in safety. Well, even the most cursory reading of history or the newspaper will show that this is certainly not the case so far. Jumping ahead to the passage from Luke, we find rather the opposite of peace for Jerusalem. The reading comes immediately after Jesus foretells the destruction of Jerusalem. This is hardly the safety talked about in Jeremiah.
The problem is our concept of time verses God's concept of time. God is the author of time, we are part of the story. What God communicates to us in the Bible is the big picture, not a detailed calendar of events. Yes, the righteous Branch will come and bring justice and peace, it's just that there is a huge chunk of time between His coming and His ultimate justice and peace. We are living in that in between time.
In the Luke passage, Jesus tells us not to be surprised when life gets hard, when things feel out of control. Even though they feel out of control, they are not. God actually does have everything under control, and had done from the beginning of time. When we see distress among the nations we are to see it as a sign that the second half of that Jeremiah prophecy will be coming closer. The ultimate justice and peace comes with the returning of Jesus. We are to raise our heads because redemption is drawing near. It is no different from seeing the buds on the trees and knowing that spring will really come, even if it is March and a late spring snow is falling. Spring comes, it always does. Jesus will come and make things right, even if it seems as though nothing will be right again.
How are we to live in this now, but not yet world? This is where the Psalm and the Luke passage come in. The Psalm tells us that God will guide the humble. We will experience God's steadfast love and faithfulness in we come to him in humbleness and ask His guidance. (I don't know about you, but this humbleness-thing is always easier said than done. I feel as though I am constantly in the cycle of thinking I know best, and then having to return and ask forgiveness because I've made a mess of things. Again.) Paul prays that the church in Thessalonica will abound in love for one another, and that they will be strengthened in holiness, so they will be ready when Jesus returns.
I don't think our instructions are any different. We are to humbly follow God, love each other with increasing love, and seek to make our hearts want to do what is right. God came in human form. The Messiah has come and in a sense things have already been made right. The important work of reconciling us to God has been accomplished. But there is still so much clean up work to do. God doesn't want to leave anyone behind, so He waits to do the final sweeping and shut and lock the door.
Here is Advent. We celebrate the first coming and long for the second. Longing and waiting. It is not waiting in vain, though, it is waiting expectantly because we know what we long for will come to pass.
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25: 1-10
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36
If you have read even a little bit of the Bible, you begin to realize that time how we humans experience it, and time as God experiences it are very different things. We live in time, God lives outside of it. I don't know about you, but I have an extremely difficult time trying to imagine what living outside of time would feel like. Frankly, I just cannot do it.
These two very different ways of viewing time are what we bump up against when we read the lectionary passages for the day. Jeremiah foretells the coming Messiah... the righteous Branch will spring up. That part is pretty clear, but then at the end of the passage, it goes onto say that Judah and Jerusalem will live in safety. Well, even the most cursory reading of history or the newspaper will show that this is certainly not the case so far. Jumping ahead to the passage from Luke, we find rather the opposite of peace for Jerusalem. The reading comes immediately after Jesus foretells the destruction of Jerusalem. This is hardly the safety talked about in Jeremiah.
The problem is our concept of time verses God's concept of time. God is the author of time, we are part of the story. What God communicates to us in the Bible is the big picture, not a detailed calendar of events. Yes, the righteous Branch will come and bring justice and peace, it's just that there is a huge chunk of time between His coming and His ultimate justice and peace. We are living in that in between time.
In the Luke passage, Jesus tells us not to be surprised when life gets hard, when things feel out of control. Even though they feel out of control, they are not. God actually does have everything under control, and had done from the beginning of time. When we see distress among the nations we are to see it as a sign that the second half of that Jeremiah prophecy will be coming closer. The ultimate justice and peace comes with the returning of Jesus. We are to raise our heads because redemption is drawing near. It is no different from seeing the buds on the trees and knowing that spring will really come, even if it is March and a late spring snow is falling. Spring comes, it always does. Jesus will come and make things right, even if it seems as though nothing will be right again.
How are we to live in this now, but not yet world? This is where the Psalm and the Luke passage come in. The Psalm tells us that God will guide the humble. We will experience God's steadfast love and faithfulness in we come to him in humbleness and ask His guidance. (I don't know about you, but this humbleness-thing is always easier said than done. I feel as though I am constantly in the cycle of thinking I know best, and then having to return and ask forgiveness because I've made a mess of things. Again.) Paul prays that the church in Thessalonica will abound in love for one another, and that they will be strengthened in holiness, so they will be ready when Jesus returns.
I don't think our instructions are any different. We are to humbly follow God, love each other with increasing love, and seek to make our hearts want to do what is right. God came in human form. The Messiah has come and in a sense things have already been made right. The important work of reconciling us to God has been accomplished. But there is still so much clean up work to do. God doesn't want to leave anyone behind, so He waits to do the final sweeping and shut and lock the door.
Here is Advent. We celebrate the first coming and long for the second. Longing and waiting. It is not waiting in vain, though, it is waiting expectantly because we know what we long for will come to pass.
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