Tuesday 20 December 2016

Hope does not disappoint

MATTHEW 24
The Second Coming

It’s Advent; and in Advent we are working with two different timescales. We prepare for Christmas, the first coming of Jesus. But we also have a tandem timeline running, as we prepare for the Second Coming.

For those overwhelmed by the horrendous consumerism of 21st century Christmases, the idea that the ‘end is nigh’ might come as a huge relief! But for us who want to remain faithful to Christ, our hope for the Second Coming might also wake us up and shake us up.

Chapter 24 is yet more tough reading courtesy of Matthew. It is laden with imagery of hard times ahead for Jesus’ immediate (chronologically) followers as well as future disciples. There are predictions of the destruction of the temple, persecution of believers, the rise of false messiahs, the cycle of wars and rumours of wars and physical hardships caused by natural disasters (normal history in other words). 

And there are instructions to simply stay faithful. 'Stay with it - that's what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry, and you will be saved.' (Verse 13)

And then there is the scary stuff.

When I was a child of nine or 10, I remember an American singing group came to our church in Pakistan (Karachi’s Holy Trinity Cathedral) and gave a presentation of the gospel. It is seared in my memory because of one haunting song which was based upon Matthew 24.39-44. It was night and the main lights were switched off. We sat in near darkness as a spotlight shone on an incredibly beautiful woman singing the haunting lines ‘one will be taken, one left behind’. I was sat on the floor not far from the singers as lights shone on some but were suddenly switched off others as she sang about two men working in a field, and ‘one will be taken, one left behind’; then of two women grinding grain, and ‘one will be taken, one left behind’. I can remember feeling overwhelmed with deep sadness as well as worry about which was better: being taken (where to? By whom1? And how – beamed up like the cast of Star Trek?) or being left behind?

Jesus’ picture imagery of the Arrival of the Son of Man is powerful, memorable and was enough to put the fear of God into a young lad. Is that why he tells us these things?

We have been mulling over the character of Jesus as portrayed by Matthew. We have found in this gospel a gritty, devastatingly tough-minded (and tender-hearted) Christ. We have not very often found him to be someone we are attracted to, but rather someone we are powerfully drawn to. We can’t avoid his words. We can’t avoid his puzzling parables. We can’t avoid his healing miracles. We can’t avoid his confrontations with the religious elite. And we dare not avoid his teaching on the Second Coming.

When I was at theological college 12 years ago, there was a reluctance, I felt, to deal with this teaching. Some tutors did not believe in the second coming at all – that it was a metaphor (for what I was not sure). Others saw it as problematic for reasons, precisely, because of my reaction as a boy – that it is never right to scare people into the kingdom work; that if we only join the kingdom to look after ‘number one’ then it kind of automatically disqualifies us from the kingdom anyway. But neither of these approaches seems to be worthy of biblical scholarship or serious theological inquiry.

This chapter is all about preparedness. It is about the individual Christian and the whole fellowship of believers taking seriously the Advent message of waking up. The liturgy of Morning Prayer in Advent has this theme running right through it like a golden thread. Here is a taste of it in these call and response verses based on Romans 13:

Now it is time to awake out of sleep,
for the night is far spent and the day is at hand.
Now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed,
for the night is far spent.
Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness
and put on the armour of light,
for the day is at hand.
Put on the Lord Jesus Christ
and make no provision for the flesh,
for the night is far spent and the day is at hand.

Waking up to, watching out for and waiting for Jesus means something very, very intentional. This discipline takes a lifetime of pondering prayer and practice of living in the presence of God. Looking for Jesus in the present means being open to the Christ in everyone we meet – even, and especially, in the unexpected places and people. How do we encourage one another to recognise the hidden Christ like this? One thing Jesus is very clear about – there will be people who think they are the Christ – fake Messiahs and lying preachers – who we need to be most on our guard against. And there will also be people who will hate us because we carry Jesus’ name. Tough minds and tender hearts are needed.

But we are not to get paranoid about missing fake messiahs or that we are being tracked down by people who hate us, either. And in the same way, I believe, we are not to get paranoid about ‘being taken or being left behind’. We are just to be ready for the arrival of the Son of Man. And to live each day beautifully, faithfully and honestly – with humility and repentance. The Master is looking for people he can depend upon. And it must be possible that we indeed can be those people; not because of any merit in us, but because of Christ's grace which gives endurance. 

I want to end this section with the uplifting and timely words of Paul in Romans 5, who, in his characteristic list-minded approach to understanding the steps that lead to Christian maturity, says this:

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

  

3 comments:

  1. I’m cheating today and breaking the rules, something Jesus was constantly accusing the Pharisees of not doing! For them the rules were everything, establishing the ‘correct’ way to do ‘religion’. So, I’m going to stray into chapter 25. I have two justifications for this non-Pharisaic behaviour: first, these two chapters taken together are the last of the five ‘sermons’ in Matthew’s gospel; second, after today I shall away for Christmas and computer-free.

    It’s another sermon on a mount, this time the Mount of Olives, delivered to the disciples in answer to questions about how they will know Jesus has come again and when it will happen. It’s by way of preparing the disciples for the task they will face picking up where Jesus leaves off – establishing a lasting mission (the ‘church’) to reconcile people to God. It would start within the context of a reformed Jewish faith, but soon be broadened to ‘make disciples of all nations’ – almost the last words of Matthew’s gospel (28, 19).

    I suspect the disciples got more than they expected as an answer. Jesus warned them to beware not to follow false prophets who claim to be the Christ, and we have had a few of those in our lifetime. And warns of wars too, and we have had a few of those. We can look around the world today and find all the dangers and threats that Jesus predicted. ‘You disciples will be hated, persecuted and killed because you follow me’, says Jesus, and many followers still face this. But stand firm, he urges, and the end will come when the gospel is preached worldwide. And he paints a graphic picture of that terrible last day. What did the disciples make of it all? The hatred, persecution and death would soon come to them when success in their mission started to pose a threat to the vested interests of the Roman world.

    Jesus expected this to occur soon after his death and resurrection, ‘within a generation’, but he says that no-one, including himself, knows the exact time, for that is of God’s choosing. Therefore, he urges them to be prepared and watchful, like a wise servant awaiting his master’s return, or a householder alert to a thief breaking in. Continuing into chapter 25, we have the parable of the ten virgins (exclusive to Matthew) and the talents (also in Luke). These urge the disciples to be prepared for the coming of Jesus, ‘therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour’.

    In the story of the talents Jesus sets out what that preparedness involves. It means taking the gifts and abilities that God has given us and using them to his glory to spread the kingdom, not just our own selfish ends. Jesus is reminding the disciples what their mission is all about. Finally, Matthew has one more story, an exclusive! Away from the crowds, concluding all Jesus’ teaching, Matthew tells us the basis for the taking of one man but leaving the person next to him at the last day – the criterion for selection at the great interview. A sheep or a goat?

    I’m pleased to say it is not about beauty and appearance, or wealth and resource, or status and position, or power and strength. All these will fade and pass. It is all about the cup of water given; the loaf divided; the clothing shared; the lonely or the prisoner visited. The preparation for the second coming requires careful attention to character and actions based on love and compassion. The last words of Jesus before the forces of the world gather against him is the critical sound-bite to live by, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me’.

    That leaves only the three final chapters, where we see the forces of darkness overcome by the forces of light, and the great event that separated Jesus from all the prophets and the preachers of his own time: the resurrection. This, with the gift of the Holy Spirit, would transform the first disciples and later generations; it opened their hearts and our hearts, it established Christ’s church, and it is why we still celebrate Christmas.

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  2. This is on one hand a sombre chapter and yet it is also filled with hope.

    It was v.12 that particularly struck me: "the love of many will grow cold". The lack of love is seen in lorries being driven into innocent crowds, in the dehumanising of refugees, in the rise of hate crimes, in terrorist atrocities throughout the world. Or as Jesus said the lack of love leads "to the increase of lawlessness".
    It reminds me of Rev 2v.1-7 which is another call to repent because "you have abandoned the love you had at first".
    Yet again we return to Jesus' first preaching, and what I am understanding as one of Matthew's main themes: "Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is near".

    And so I've been pondering where it is that love is evident, vibrant, life affirming, and bringing warmth to broken lives. Often it is in simple and unremarkable kindness shown by faithful friends as I have experienced today in kind messages in my email inbox and in hospitality while visiting friends' houses. I wonder who has warmed you with love today?

    As we prepare for Christmas my prayer is that every one of the several hundred, who will come to one of our church services, will have their hearts stirred and warmed by love made known in the Christ child.

    It is the victory and reign of God's love that brings hope of salvation. The Son of Man will come to save. And he longs for us to endure, to keep faithful, to keep loving, so that we will be ready to meet him.

    Another prayer said at Morning Prayer is one that I find a most helpful way to start each day:
    "As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
    so may the light of your presence, O God,
    set our hearts on fire with love for you;
    now and for ever. Amen.

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  3. As I read this chapter, I was reminded of the wars being fought around the world, especially the Middle East. It must feel for those people like the end times are here.
    " Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.." , is reminiscent of the Yazidi Christians who fled to the mountains and were stranded there without food or help. I wonder what has happened to them. I wonder what has happened to Father Tom, who was captured in Yemen, by IS, while working with the Missionaries of Charity. Is he alive? I hope he knows in his heart that there are people all over the world praying for him.

    "The sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
    The stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken."

    This must what it must feel like for Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian who is in incarcerated, in isolation, in Pakistan for blasphemy. The book about her speaks of how she never sees the sun or the moon, and how it has been years since she has seen her children. It must feel for her like the stars have fallen from the sky. Yet she holds firmly to her faith. What courage, what faith. Would I have such firm faith if I were her?

    I end with my son's poem. May God help us to hold firm to our faith. May He help us to understand His word and keep His ways.

    Deus ex machina
    The city sleeps, enveloped in a bliss ignorance
    Shaded from the truth in a suffocating mist
    The pitch black sky looks down, hiding innocent minds from the prying eyes of the carrion

    It is adorned with twinkling diamonds, speckles of light in the darkness
    That guide the agents of death to their target
    Traitors amidst the faithful apostles

    The silence shatters like glass, a piercing noise penetrating it
    The giant awakes from its slumber
    Rubbing the innocent sleep from its eyes

    Roused by the shrill scream, the sound of the Sirens
    A low drone begins, pulsating with the energy of a distant army
    Sennacherib has come to lay siege to Zion


    The sky lights up
    The dark succumbs to the light
    The curtain opens

    The evil comes not from the depths
    But burning from the heavens above
    Unleashing its terror on the ground below

    The eagle circles and swoops
    Racing downwards

    Shot down by the mortals below
    A spectacle in the night
    Writhing and twisting

    It hits the earth and grinds to a halt
    Sent from the heavens to the earth down below
    Deus ex machina

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