There is another preparation for
Christmas that is also underway. This
secular preparation is radically different from the preparation of Advent. By secular preparation, I am referring to the
hectic pre-Christmas period of parties, dinners and, of course, shopping.
These two types of preparation are
actually two separate “realities.”
Whereas Advent is a time of sacrifice, forgiveness, and purification,
the secular preparation encourages and promotes extravagance. Whereas Advent looks from the past towards
the future Kingdom of God, the secular preparation focuses on indulgence in the
present. As faithful Christians, each of
us today must live in both realities, the reality of Advent and the secular
reality of the larger society around us.
In a real sense, we have a foot in both realities. We believe that the Reign of God has already
been established through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yet, when we look around our world and see
hunger, war, and environmental challenges, we know that God’s Reign is not
fully established. So, God’s Reign is
already here, but not yet complete. Two
realities remain. Christians currently
live in a long interim period, as we wait for Jesus to come again and fully
complete God’s Reign.
Each year during Advent, there are
traditional scripture readings which ground my messages for this time. This Sunday, I will be preaching on one of
these traditional scriptures, Matthew 24: 36-44. Of course, contemporary Christians are not the
only ones who have found themselves living in two worlds, defined by two
realities. Even Jesus’ first followers struggled
with the two worlds. In the passage from
Matthew, Jesus emphasizes these two realities as a conflict between two
kingdoms. At the same time, Jesus looks
toward the future, to the time when he will return to earth and God’s Reign
will be fully established.
At the same time, Jesus cautions his
disciples that no one knows when this future Reign of God will become the one reality. He says, “But about that day and hour no one
knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (v. 36)
Instead, Jesus encourages his disciples to be prepared for that future
day, when he will come again and God’s Reign becomes completely established.
Essentially, Jesus is urging the
first disciples—as well as us, living in the 21st century—to prepare
for the unknown. But, how do we do
that? For Jesus, the best preparation is
to live faithfully in both of the competing realities. On the one hand, we live faithfully when we
allow God’s Reign to increase within us through spiritual growth. So, we must prepare ourselves spiritually
during Advent through confession and purification. On the other hand, we live faithfully when we work to establish God’s Reign in
the secular world. As persons with one
of our feet in the secular world, it is hard to avoid the pre-Christmas period,
including all of that hectic shopping. However,
even in the secular reality hustle and bustle of pre-Christmas preparation, we can work to establish God’s Reign through making
some sacrifices and through reaching out to others in need.
If you live in the Meriden-area and
do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United
Methodist Church. I especially invite
you to make attending this weekend and throughout Advent, as a core part of
your Christmas preparations. Meriden
United Methodist Church is located at the corner of Dawson and Main Streets in
Meriden, Kansas. We have two worship
services each weekend:
Ø Our
contemporary service starts at 6 pm on Saturday evenings.
Ø Our
classic service starts on at 10 am on Sunday mornings.
Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.
No comments:
Post a Comment