12-3-17 Advent 1 BGeorge Yandell
Theophany- a clinical term. A word combining theos = God, and phanein, to show. A theophany is an event- the event of God showing God's self to humans. The Advent season is preparation for theophany. What does is mean to prepare for God's display of God's own self? For people of faith through the ages it has meant a combination of fear, relief and joy. For us who know Jesus as the Son of God, preparing has usually meant joy and challenge. It also means we should expect changes, changes in the very roots of our existence. What might those changes be? The Rev. Claiborne Jones is doing a half-day Advent retreat at St. James, Marietta on Dec. 9. Her topic: “Heaven, Hell, Death, Judgement- So What’s Not to Like About Advent?”
According to new testament scholar Norman Perrin, Christianity began as an apocalyptic sect within Judaism. (An apocalypse is an event that reveals something- for Christians, the revealing of the end of this age, the coming of God’s new creation.) The earliest Christians awaited the imminent end of the age, a dramatic conclusion to current times marked by the return of Jesus. The epistle today has Paul writing to the Christians in Corinth. It ends with a note about that end-of-the age expectation. “He will strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord. God is faithful.” Many thought that when the Jewish peasants revolted against Rome in 66 C.E., God would intervene and end the war in their favor. But when Jerusalem fell in 70 C.E., and the temple was destroyed by the Romans, the new age did not come. The followers of Jesus fled Jerusalem, taking with them their "Jesus traditions". Those traditions had a great impact on Christianity outside Palestine. With the passage of time and the failure of anticipated events to occur, Christianity spread into the Gentile world, and apocalyptic thinking eased off. The community's emphasis shifted more from "hanging on" until the end, to "spreading the message" of Jesus and his life, death and resurrection.
The Chrisitanswho spread throughout the Roman empire still considered themselves to be living between times- between the first and second coming of Jesus the Messiah. They worked hard. Pauls' whole ministry was training people to live productively for Christ between times. The way that the early church lived "between times" was to acknowledge the current age’s passing away, while living as if it would endure. Hope inGod's future, not false optimism, propelled their work in the world until now. They, and we, are to serve in the "Holy present time" where we will grow, be tested, and be found either faithful or unfaithful.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta told this story on herself to make the point of the importance of the work of God in present time. During her early years working with the Sisters of Charity in Calcutta, she came down with a terrible fever. Her temperature climbed until she became delirious, and in her words, she was near death. At that time, she had a vision of St. Peter at the gates of heaven. She told Peter, the Vicar of Christ, that she was ready to pass from this world and come home to heaven. But Peter refused to grant her request. Somewhat annoyed, Mother Teresa asked “Why won’t you let me in?” Peter replied, "Because there are no slums in heaven."
For Mother Teresa, fulfillment was not to come at the expense of the present- the work in the here and now. The return of Jesus was not to be an excuse for failing to express Christ in a world which needed healing and wholeness NOW. The question is not "When will Jesus come and bring heaven to earth?" but "How can we open Christ's kingdom here and now?"
The Christian hope, then and now, means that the world is to be viewed from the perspective of the end of the age. The end judges the present, and that means we will never be totally satisfied until the "New heaven and new earth" have arrived in their completeness.
A friend has repeatedly said to me, "Everything Jesus preached was the New Creation." The new creation is the kingdom, beginning is us now. The problem is how to live creatively in the ambiguity of the new creation beginning now, and the fulfillment of that new creation being postponed until the end of this age. For us, living for the new creation requires some changes- some small, some monumental.
What does the new creation look like? The reading from Mark carries threat and promise as it describes the Day of the Lord's coming. The sun will be darkened, stars will fall.The Son of Man will come with great power & glory. That's the picture of the external things of the end time. I Corinthianss talks of the Church community and it's inward response to the Lord's coming. "In every way you have been enriched in JesusChrist… so that you are not lacking any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ….The Lord will strengthen you to the end." The community’s internal changes toward holiness are critical for you and me now, as they were for the congregations in Corinth in 53 C.E.
Jesus comes as theophany. God shows God's self in a human being. The new creation Jesus preaches is Himself. He is the gateway and the kingdom. Everything Jesus did demonstrated the new creation. He healed the sick. He preached good news to the poor. He fed the hungry, not just with food that perishes, but food for eternal life. He included the cast-off in his fellowship. He upbraided the insincere, uncaring rulers of his day. He threw out the temple money-changers who were defiling the true worship of Yahweh. He taught everyone who would listen the good news of the coming kingdom. His whole life was lived as sacrifice- making holy- for the downtrodden and sinners- you and me. Our behaviors toward our neighbors offer Christ to all we meet. As Jesus did, so the church is to do. If people can touch just the barest edge of the new creation by what we as church do, then the creation can grow inside them. As the Eucharistic prayer we used this fall says, “Breathe your Spirit over the whole earth and make usyour new creation, the Body of Christ given for the world you have made.”
We know we are succesful if holiness grows. If respect for all people flows from our midst. We know we are living and being the new creation if the most despised people around us are accepted. Growing in holiness makes us joyful together. Our faithfulness to Christ's new creation creates joy even in the midst of pain. Even when the world seems to be going to hell, the Church shows forth the alternative of heaven now. Living hopefully in the face of the end of this age, opening our hearts ever wider to be Christ with all we meet. As our parish vision says, ‘Revealing Jesus through our actions by extending his love for us through our service to others.’
That what Advent means for us. The new creation nears, and joy spreads further and further. All can share in it.