“CHRIST YOU SALVATION”
Saint Luke 21. 25-36
POPULUS ZION-the Second Sunday of Advent: 6 December Anno Domini 2009
JW Watson, pastor
Astronomers, physicists and scientists of all stripes are probably correct when they tell us that there have been cosmic, atmospheric, and geological phenomena and catastrophic disruptions since the "Big Bang," since "Let there be light!"
Full solar eclipses at the time of Pharaoh and Joshua? Yes. Yellow/orange harvest moons sometimes looking blood red? Yes. Earthquakes, typhoons, tsunamis, volcanoes, tornados, draughts for years and years? Yes.
If the Christ's words about the physical manifestations of nature were as simple as many think, then we wouldn't have to listen to any of His other words about "watching," "being alert," and being faithfully on guard because we know not the hour of the Master's return.
The Son of God was there at the beginning when He was WITH THE FATHER, and MADE ALL THINGS. He was the ETERNAL WORD, ETERNALLY BEGOTTEN, King of Creation and Son of God/Son of Man. The Son of God was there at the Incarnation taking flesh and His human nature of the Semper Virgo. He was there at your "call" by the Holy Ghost, when He came to you in that tri-une watery word. And He will be your Son of God when He returns in Glory at the last trump.
But, for now, He IS HERE in His Kingdom of Grace, that is, in His Church Catholic. His Kingdom is His font. His Kingdom is His pulpit. His Kingdom is His altar and Holy Communion Rail.
So what is Jesus talking about? Is he talking about the end of the world, or your death? Yes, in a way he is. But chiefly the Lord is talking to the 12, to His hand-picked Apostles, His "Sent Ones." He is telling them what to expect in the years after His visible veiling; after He will no longer be seen with human eyes or heard with human ears, but only apprehended by Faith, through the Word.
Jesus is talking about the persecution of the Church, the martyrdom of His Saints, and the destruction of Jerusalem and its soon-to-be-obsolete and even blasphemous Temple.
The heart of Israel had always been its Temple, the place where God tabernacle with His people. The apple of God's eye, of course of King David, but it was also His holy mountain of Zion, Jerusalem the Golden; City of Peace. The entire universe, as the Jews knew it, came to an end when Rome destroyed their city and their Holy of Holies. For them, all the powers of heaven came crashing down on their heads. As the sword of the Legion drove them all into death, slavery or diaspora, their hearts truly failed them.
But for all the People of the Way, that is, the believing Jews like Matthew, and John, Peter and Paul, The Son of Man was coming. Certainly Christ would come again to judge the Quick and the Dead, but their Righteous Rabbi came every Lord's Day in the Breaking of Bread, the Prayer, and in the Apostle's Doctrine. Indeed Jesus comes every Mass in a cloud of Incense, or in a cloud of Prayers ascending from His saints to mingle with the prayers of those Martyrs who have dipped their robes in the Blood of the Lamb. Jesus comes in great glory in the humility of His message of forgiveness. For in your weakness His strength of absolution is infinite. You lift your heads and hearts and voices and you join the celestial choir in singing "Lord have Mercy," and "Holy, Holy, Holy." Your redemption is so near that you can splash it on yourself in remembrance of the first time you were dipped in His Water. Your salvation is as close as the voice of an under-shepherd or the drinking and eating of His Table.
Refrain from constantly becoming "drunk" on gaudy entertainment and selfish baubles of whatever hobbies, diversions and sports flit in and out of your sinful dilettante way-ward lives. Repent!
The winter of the Church is at hand. In one sense the barrenness of autumn bespeaks the earthly death of all of us. The cold winter with its long nights typifies the long night of the soul and the tribulations of living life under the cross with all its vicissitudes and sorrows. But in Jesus all is all. The eternal Spring-time of the Church, the Green Season of Grace is too with you all every time Jesus comes to you with Himself, the Sap of Salvation, the water of life. In this spring of anticipation, this always-Advent of anticipatory alertness, you know that the bud is on the fig tree. The fig tree is the Church Herself. She is budding; she is pregnant, she is a Virgin Bride about to give birth to all your brothers and sisters, here in time, and hereafter in eternity. The birth pangs are upon Christ's bride even as they have been on the creation, nature, since the beginning, and most essentially since the Atonement. It is finished. He stands at the door.
Stop thinking of yourselves and cease ignoring your neighbor who needs you.
The generation which Jesus references is the Church-His flock. He means that both the 12 and all of you will be with Him, in Him, in His Word and His Holy Things, until the time comes to go to the many mansions.
The charnel house of suffering, abuse, and decay which is your world, your planet, will be done away with. There will be no more war and starvation because of your anger and selfishness. There will be no more unemployment, retardation, disease, or loneliness, because of man's sin.
The sky and solar system will be changed as well. The sky will truly become blue again, not that pasty chalk-like approximation of what celestial cyan really looks like. The heavens will again twinkle and shine as they did for Adam and Eve at the start!
Christ the Word will not just endure forever, He will be with you forever as your all.
Are you worthy to escape all the things which are coming to pass? Are you worthy to stand before the Son of Man as His beloved brother or sister? Did He obey His Father perfectly during His first Advent? Did He die on the crucifix to pay for your debts? Are you baptized in His Name? Do you hear Him tell you all is forgiven? "All Is Forgiven!"
Do you wait to receive Him at Table, He "Who comes in + the Name of The Lord?"
Behold the fig tree she bears fruit! Behold Daughter of Zion, thy salvation cometh!
In the Name of The Father and of + The Son and of The Holy Ghost