Mark 13:24-37
1 Advent
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. Strange and disturbing stuff, this apocalyptic
imagery. I vividly recall my first encounter with it. It didn’t come in church
or in a seminary classroom. It happened when I was young boy in a movie
theater, courtesy of Walt Disney, and with the title “Sleeping Beauty.” Do any
of you remember seeing that movie? Princess Aurora has a curse put on her by
the evil sorceress Maleficent so that when she pricks her finger on a spindle
she falls into a deep sleep and can only be awakened by the kiss of true love.
While she lies in this enchanted sleep, Prince Phillip is determined to rescue
her. But he is imprisoned in the dungeon of Maleficent’s castle, seemingly
doomed until three good fairies release him and arm him with the sword of truth
and the shield of virtue. With their help he fights through hordes of demonic
creatures, a dark forest of brambles, and a terrible storm, until Maleficent
herself appears before him in a burst of flame and cries out, “Now shall you
deal with me, O Prince, and all the powers of hell!” — mind you, this is considered a children’s
movie —and at that point she transforms herself into a huge dragon, and the
prince is almost overcome but hurls his sword through the lurid sky with the
words, “O sword of truth, fly swift and sure, that evil die and good endure.”
The sword then plunges into the dragon’s breast, and the beast perishes in a
great flurry of fire and smoke. And then the sun comes out, the prince awakens
Aurora with a kiss, and they all live happily ever after.
Well,
“they” did not include me: I don’t think I slept well for a week afterwards.
Like the “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence in Fantasia and the sea witch story in The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty is pure apocalypse. It has all
the elements we find in Scripture: storm and darkness, struggle and suffering,
heavy symbolism, cataclysmic events, supernatural intervention, the temporary
triumph of evil, the ultimate victory of good. I couldn’t have explicated all
that as a kid, of course, but even then I got the message: this world can be a
terrifying place, but love always wins in the end.
If
you get that, then you understand the basics of apocalyptic thought. It was a
form of religious literature that was very popular in the century or two before
and after Jesus’ earthly life — the book of Revelation being the most famous
example — and it was custom designed for turbulent times. As frightening and
forbidding as it seems to us, the basic message was one of hope: when the world
seems to be imploding, even when the world is actually ending and the forces of
evil and chaos seem triumphant, even then God is God and love will prevail.
It’s easy to believe that when the sky is blue, our stomachs are full, and are
children are safe, but it is when life is tragic and awful that we most need to
believe it. Scratched on a wall of German concentration camp during World War
II were these words:
I believe in the sun, even when it
is not shining.
I believe in love, even when I don’t
feel it.
I believe in God, even when he is
silent.
Apocalyptic
language in the Bible, like we find in our Gospel today, affirms in the most
graphic and dramatic way possible that the sun will shine again, God will not
be silent, and love will win.
And
that is how we begin the season of Advent which, despite popular belief, is not
primarily about getting ready for Christmas. Our preparation to celebrate the
first coming of Jesus at Bethlehem gives us an opportunity to prepare for the
continued coming of Jesus in our daily lives and the final coming of Jesus at
the end of our lives, and the end of all time. And this season takes place in
the darkest month of the year and always begins with an apocalyptic Gospel
passage, giving us a stark reminder that it is when life is dark that we most
need Christ to come.
And
since Jesus does come, the great message on this first Sunday of Advent is:
Stay awake! — don’t miss him when he comes, and don’t forget that he often
comes in the toughest moments. I was in the hospital a couple months ago
visiting someone who is not a parishioner but has a connection with our parish.
She was very sick, with some serious medical issues going on, and she was not
expecting a visit from me. But it was grace-filled: we talked, I anointed her
and prayed for her, and she ended up in tears, good tears. It was not because I
did anything special, but she was vulnerable enough and I was awake enough for
the Spirit to move, and the Spirit moved. As I was leaving, she said, “I will
never forget this.” What I will never forget is that Jesus came to that
hospital room that day.
I
shudder to think how many times I have been asleep and missed him, but my
experience and the experience of others has taught me that Christ is coming to
us all the time. So before we jump into all the frantic activity of December,
before we get all caught up in gifts and parties and pre-Christmas chaos, I
urge you to stay awake. Any Advent practices, like reading devotionals and
lighting wreaths, only matter to the extent that they keep us alert to the
coming of Jesus. And as we stay focused on that, I think two things are
particularly important. First, in light of today’s Gospel, pay special
attention to the “apocalyptic” moments in your life, the moments of sickness,
pain, fear, and despair because those are so often the times when Christ comes.
And second, remember that he not only comes to us: he comes through us. This
week, you may well be Jesus to someone else: the Spirit of Christ may come
through you to bless another person. It has nothing to do with being deserving
or holy: it has everything to do with being willing and awake. So wake up.
After all, if we want to greet him with joy when he comes on the Last Day, we
best begin by recognizing him when he comes on this day. Our Prayer Book
funeral liturgy, quoting Job, puts it beautifully:
As for me, I know that my Redeemer
lives
And that at the last day he will
stand upon the earth.
After my awaking, he will raise me
up;
and in my body I shall see God.
I myself shall see him, and my eyes
behold him
Who is my friend and not a stranger.
So
be it for all of us. Amen.
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