Advent, Week 1: Saturday

Matthew 24:36-44 (NRSV):

But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

This is one of the passages of Scripture that has given rise to some pretty awful concepts, such as cars suddenly having their drivers be "raptured." I find it amusing that so many Christians expend so much effort on "decoding" the apocalyptic portions of the Bible (especially the Revelation) and claiming to know for certain that we are in the "last days," while here Jesus makes it crystal clear that we do not know the hour or the day when Jesus will return.

My pastor occasionally makes reference to a bumper sticker she saw some years back: "Jesus is coming: Look busy!". It makes me laugh, but there's an ugly truth about it concerning how the church behaves. We are far more willing to engage in "busy work" than to be consistently, faithfully busy doing the actual work the Lord has given us. Some of us are extremely proud to picket abortion clinics, for example; why, Jesus would be so proud of our opposition to abortion! But just what are we doing besides a cheap protest that mainly just irritates people? Not much, at least not much that matters in the lives of women who seek abortions. We refuse to even consider educating our children and youth about human sexuality; we condemn and shun young women who become pregnant outside marriage; we piously condemn the government for doing for single mothers what the church refuses to do: provide them with some financial and housing assistance so that they and their children don't end up homeless and starving to death. Even more telling is our self-insulation from "that kind" of person: someone who's never known a stable family, perhaps infected with a sexually-transmitted disease, who has no stable job and who is now bewildered when faced with the consequences of settling for a sexual relationship while actually seeking love. Have we given her, or her partner, any love as the church? Sadly, no. We make fun of how they dress (droopy pants or pants that don't quite cover midriff and upper hips), we express our distaste for their music, we despise everything they stand for and make no secret of the fact. But hey . . . we get in their faces when out of desperation the pregnant women seek an abortion. (Actually, we get in the faces of any women who go to the clinics, because we don't know if they're there for abortions or for something else, such as contraception, HIV testing, or low-cost Pap tests. We just assume the worst and who cares if we're wrong?)

And that's just one example of how we're doing busywork instead of Kingdom work. Busywork means we never get our hands dirty. Busywork keeps us smug and self-righteous. Busywork is safe.

Kingdom work, however, involves risk. We actually have to get involved in people's lives and meet them where they are. It's messy, it's inconvenient, it's heart-breaking. But it's also the most glorious self-expenditure there is. Really, nothing else has any eternal value.

God makes it clear that our outward piety means nothing if we do not humble ourselves and walk in our Savior's footsteps. Christ loved us so much that he emptied himself, took on human flesh, was born into poverty, all so that he could become sin for our sakes on the cross. He was absolutely, vitally involved in our lives. How dare we settle for outward, meaningless forms of self-congratulatory piety when we're called to be the body of Christ, alive in the world, touching and healing and loving and teaching those Christ died to save?

That is what it means, in my opinion, to be ready for Christ. And isn't it interesting that when we do these things, we see the face of the Savior in those we serve?

Advent, Week 1: Tuesday

Recommended readings from the first Sunday of Advent (from the Revised Common Lectionary):

Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36


Jeremiah 33:15 reads, "In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land." (NRSV)

There are times that I long for the Day of the Lord, that long-promised day when all that is wrong will be set to rights, when Jesus comes and (pardon the Texas euphemism here) opens up a can of whup-*ss on all the sorry folks who refuse to do what's right. Religiously popular theology tells us that when the world is at its nasty, sinful worst, we should piously pray for Jesus to come quickly.

Problem is, that's not the way it works. Jesus didn't call us (the church) his body for nothing. Jesus came and showed us quite definitively what it takes to turn this bad old world upside down and right-side up. He already won the victory over sin and death! Our job is supposed to be a bright, salty one in which we "infect" this world with the righteousness of Christ, which is his gracious gift to us. Jesus IS our Righteousness. So what are we doing with that righteousness?

It seems to me that we Christians too often separate ourselves from any inconvenient hint of the evil of the outside "heathen" world, creating a "Christian" safety zone for us and ours. Unfortunately, when we do that, virtually nothing gets done about the work Christ commanded us to do: give up our own lives in order to serve those the Lord died to save. We're so busy saving our lives that we forget we're supposed to lose them! Meanwhile, unrighteous people never even know there's a different way to live, because they never see it in us. We hide behind the doors of our homes and churches and workplaces, trying to keep ourselves as pure as possible by avoiding the messiness of ordinary people just trying to survive in a cutthroat world.

It's good to remember that entire nations are judged by the righteousness of their people, according to Matthew 25:31-46. If we Christians guard ourselves and our perception of our own righteousness so zealously that we don't "do justly" to those around us, I don't see any way that our individual nations are going to become righteous. Justice and righteousness are paired together in the Jeremiah text for a good reason: there is no righteousness where there is no justice, and vice versa.

A "justice" system is simply an elaborate means of exacting vengeance when it is the tool of unrighteous people. When a theological or philosophical worldview requires the subjugation of one class of people by another in the name of "biblical righteousness," it proves itself both unbiblical and unrighteous by its inherent injustice. When we proudly proclaim ourselves righteous yet engage in unjust behavior toward others, we are deceived at best, and are more likely simply liars. We dare not excuse our unjust behavior then hide behind "Jesus is my Righteousness." The just humbly follow God and are genuinely kind toward their neighbors (Micah 6:8). In other words, true justice naturally follows when we embrace the humility required by the practice of godly grace. If we desire justice and kindness from God, we must "go and do likewise."

Advent reminds us that Christ is coming. We cannot know when, though the signs will be clear. There is nothing wrong with praying along with the ancient church, "Come, Lord Jesus!" But let us do so while engaged wholeheartedly in emulating the humble righteousness of the Lord we claim to follow. Let us be his hands and feet and voice and heart in the midst of the sinful world he considered worth everything he had to give. May our prayer be active and effective as we spend ourselves in service to the least and the lost.