And Christ Will Come Again..........

Advent is a season of preparation; we prepare for the Second Coming of Christ. In this third week of Advent, I think it would be beneficial for all of us to think about the truth that Jesus was born; he performed miracles; modeled what it was to see God in our midst; taught with true understanding; threatened authority; served all of humankind; gave up his life for many; and then ascended to sit at the right hand of God. He will, we know, come again. But how will he come?

Will he come as he came? Will he be born of a marginalized young woman in a way that astounds all?  Will he be raised on the periphery of society, steeped in spiritual tradition, and yet, clearly not in the inner circle of respectability?  At Bethlehem there is a large Cathedral over the place where Jesus was remembered to have been born.  It seems improbable that the Second Coming of Christ will be in a Cathedral or the seat of religious hierarchy.  It seems much more likely that the Christ, at his Second Coming will be as a refuge, either born in a camp or on the sojourn. 

In the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles there is beautiful imagery of the Christ ascending into the heavens leaving his disciples/apostles/and, well all of us behind. A messenger of God, looks at the trembling gathering and says, do not be afraid for the Christ will return and he will return in the same way that he left before. “While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (NRSV Acts 2:10-11)

So, this is what I am thinking. Because we understand that Christ ascended in this powerful and vivid imagery, we can fall into the temptation of standing around watching the heavens waiting for Christ to ascend. What if “he will come in the same way” points more at Christ’s life of service than the liturgical ascension? What if, as John the Baptist is standing in the muck and mire of the Jordan River, he is encountering Jesus in the true sense of what it is to encounter God.

I believe that to know Christ is to serve others. I believe that we do not pick who we serve, we serve who God gives us to serve. We do not find the people we serve by standing and gawking, and waiting, we find the people we serve by getting into the muck and mire of the muddiest, most polluted, waters we can imagine. In Philadelphia on Friday it snowed, and two days later the pristine beauty of the winter wonderland of fairy tales and Market Street, if they ever really existed, are gone. Now, we have the grey soupy mess that is melting all around us. This is a time to serve others as Christ served us. This is our call; this is why we are here; this is how we know or see Christ. How will Christ come; I propose that for some he will come through us.

Peace and blessing,     

                                                                 Jon +