Advent
November 29, 2014
Scripture Reading: Mark 13:24-37
‘But in those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in clouds” with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. — Mark 13:24-26
It is called apocalyptical literature. While Daniel and Revelation are the most common books in the Bible described as apocalyptical literature, tidbits of such writing are found throughout the Bible and that is what we have quoted as Jesus speaking in our scripture today from book of Mark.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary* describes apocalyptical as:
forecasting or predicting the ultimate destiny of the world in the shape of future events
prophetic, revelatory
foreboding imminent disaster or final doom
wildly unrestrained
ultimately decisive
Jesus’ coming to earth is a profound part of the ultimate destiny of the world and thus it is fitting during Advent that we pause to reflect on what the arrival of this Son of God means to our future. What it tells me, and I think what Jesus was trying to tell us all, is that the future is now. How we live today and everyday shapes our futures. We are called to live in the now as if the Kingdom of God were fully realized throughout the earth even in the midst of suffering, of the failure of the sun and the moon, and of the stars falling from heaven. Our faith is not to be shaken because we already know the complete and absolute love of God through God’s Son Jesus Christ.
I am one of those cradle Christians so it is really impossible for me to consider a world without Jesus, but it might be a good idea to consider it at this time. To put ourselves in the shoes of the oppressed people Jesus was addressing and still addresses today. We must never, ever take the love of God through Jesus Christ for granted. It is too precious a gift for that to happen.
Prayer: Lord, God of our Future, make us masters of your love so that through us all can experience such a precious gift. Amen.
* http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/apocalyptical
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.