ADVENT - DIFFICULT & TROUBLING

SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON DECEMBER 3, 2006

Luke: 21:27 "And then they will see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."

And my response is: "But I'm not ready yet!"

Scripture is full of references in various places to the end of time and the end of the world. The New Testament takes this with the second coming of Christ. This is how we begin the new church year with the season of Advent.

I find Advent difficult and troubling. Difficult, because outside this church it is impossible to keep Advent. We are already engaged in what is called the Holiday Season, with emphasis on buying things and parties. You may have noticed that whereas the holiday season always began after Thanksgiving - this year it started with stores being opened on Thanksgiving Day.

Let's be honest - buying things and parties are neither about Christmas nor Advent.

So it is difficult to keep Advent for Christians because the rest of the world knows nothing of this strange season.

I also find Advent troubling. When I think of the second coming I do say I'm not ready yet. I have a lot of living to do, and a lot more work ahead of me as your Rector. If our Lord came back on a cloud this afternoon it would be most inconvenient and muck up a few of my plans. More importantly I'm not spiritually ready. I'm not ready to be taken to heaven. So please, Lord, don't come on the clouds in power and glory just yet!

Some churches love the idea of the second coming. They take great pleasure in warning us of the perils to come. They talk a lot about judgment. They seem to be very excited about the possibility of the end of the world. I find this troubling also. It seems to be an unhealthy concentration on this aspect of scripture.

What the bible says about the second coming does trouble me. And a lot of it seems to be coming true in our own day. Consider the rise of Islam and what is called the 'crash of civilizations.' It seems that Christianity is no longer a force for both good and justice in our world. Remember that Christianity constructed our great western civilization that we enjoy. But these days in the west Christianity is becoming minority status. It is being displaced by a spirituality which denies the super natural and is concerned for the here and now.

This has crept into the church. Not just in forms of worship where often it seems there is no supernatural dimension. But also a dumbing down of the things we proclaim as the faith of the church. It begins with a denial of the physical resurrection of Jesus. Then sees the virgin birth as being unnecessary, and perhaps a myth. It concludes with the general uniqueness of Christ being questioned.

We are all going the same way, we are told. I call this 'a need to know' religion. That is: we are told that Jesus didn't need to be born of a virgin to become a human being like us. Jesus didn't need to physically rise from the dead to give us eternal life. We don't need these sorts of miracles for our faith. We only need to believe. So what we are left with is a nice guy whose teachings everyone can accept. And everyone will be the same.

The premise is that it's important what Jesus said - not what he did. Imagine if we applied that to our leaders and politicians. It is not important what they do, it’s important what they say? I don't think any of us would use that as accountability for our leaders. What we do is as important as what we say. So what Jesus did - rose from the dead, born of a virgin, only son of God - is the crux of the matter. This is nothing new.

St Paul's epistle to the Thessalonians was written 2,000 years ago but it addresses the problems of our age. The Thessalonians were weak in their faith. The faith they received from St. Paul and the other apostles had been watered down. So in today's letter he is telling them that he is coming to strengthen their faith. And he is anxious, because Jesus is coming back soon. The second coming is not about judgment - it is about us going back to the faith. For St. Paul the final judgment concludes with the appearance of anti- Christ, that mysterious figure in the Book of Revelation. Not only anti-Christ, but a whole array of signs. As it was for Jesus in today's gospel. "Look at the fig tree" says Jesus. Look for the signs. St. Paul talked about stronger signs. He talked about debauchery, wars, persecution and apostasy.

I find it timely that last week Pope Benedict visited Turkey. There we have the great leader of the major Christian church visiting the great leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which was once the religion of the city of Constantinople, now reduced to a very tiny minority, often persecuted, with no influence. It reminds us that in Muslim countries the church struggles, has lost its place and is sometimes under persecution. May we see this as a warning even here in the United States about where the church might end up? It's not just in the Middle East - look at Somalia and Sudan. Places where there are Islamic forces fighting against Christians living and worshiping in those places.

So the signs are there. As for wars and rumors of wars, one of great signs of the end times: Does anyone really know when Iraq, Palestine, and Lebanon will have peace? If it is possible that peace may come to that part of the world, surely other wars will take place, perhaps East Asia or Africa!

And what of debauchery? I haven't been to a night club for years, but I know that it is not a pretty sight these days. Drug taking is an epidemic in America, Australia and Britain amongst our young people. These will lead to generation X and Y in rehab centers by the time they have reached maturity. It is a great concern. The current “drug of choice” is called 'ice' - which gives a new meaning to the word 'cool.'

Are all these signs of the end times that are going to end in what we might call a final Advent season?

An advent season that will not end in a Christmas, but in a new passion of Jesus Christ - a new trial for his body on earth, the church. As his body we know that any Passion of Christ is always followed by the resurrection. Even though the times do not look good, we are always filled with hope because Christ still lives and works for peace and justice through his church. And if we are reduced to a small minority, even in our own country, we will still exist as the presence of Christ. So Advent calls us once again to strengthen our faith and to believe in our ministry and apostolate as members of the church.

But this is to avoid the final thing St. Paul warns us of: apostasy. I think we know that there is apostasy about. It is not only in the church but in the community. “New age" religion is a phenomenon that has worked its way into the church. This apostasy denies the transcendent God and is focused on us. It exalts man and his resources, and sees us as the pinnacle, not just of creation, but of everything. It always looks inward and talks about the 'god within'. And because man always needs to adore someone, so man adores man. So man is deified. And our fulfillment becomes the purpose of all life.

The God we worship now, the God we want to be like, is the perfect man or woman. Just look at television and you will find them. People no longer believe in something beyond reason. Not something that is intangible. Everything has to be grasped. Nor do people feel answerable to a God who created them and knows them. For we have created ourselves. Man no longer beseeches God in prayer, but in meditation in a non-christian way which is immersion into the self.

Do I exaggerate? Think about people you know who are who are not practicing Christians. Or see what's in your local bookshop. Or consider the general acceptance of reincarnation - which is in reality a way of denying death and making us mere spirits. Maybe the end times are near - or maybe this is all just more warnings about life. These are difficult times for Christians. So the fact that Advent is troublesome and difficult is appropriate.

But Advent is a hopeful season and there is much for the Christian to be joyful about and to celebrate. If Jesus should return it could be the end of everything we know. The church would finally be identified perfectly with his death and resurrection - what we might call the final Passover. This will be the final victory over evil. And we whose names are already written in what Revelation calls "the Book of Life" will joyfully pass to the banquet of joy and life and love that Jesus promised us. This is something all of us can anticipate without fear. And if it should happen this afternoon I will welcome it with joy, even though it will be very inconvenient to my plans! For ultimately my plans are only of value if they lead me to the heavenly banquet - of which every Eucharist is both a sign and a participation.

Our Collect today sums it all up:

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his

glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal.