Unexpected...

Unexpected…

Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122:6-9; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44

(look these up on biblegateway.com or bible.oremus.org)

On this first week of Advent, we have Scriptures which anticipate the future.  In Isaiah, we hear, “in the days to come...the Lord’s house shall be established in the highest of the mountains.”  In Romans, Paul tells the congregation there that they know what time it is.  And in the Gospel, we hear that nobody but God knows the day or the hour, but that it will be as in the time of Noah.

Well.  How’s that for getting your curiosity going?

We’ve been having as Scripture for the last few weeks what are called ‘Apocalyptic Literature,’  which all foretell that something BIG is about to happen, and maybe a wee bit scary:  Disasters, wars, the end times, something like that.  Now, I don’t know that that’s what I want to think about just when we’re hauling out the Christmas decorations and trying to get into the holiday spirit.

However, I realized a few things as I was preparing for today, one of which is that in Biblical times, so much was written when big scary things were happening like this.  Maybe when all was well, people just didn’t think to write.  (It’s a little like not hearing from the kids unless they need money).  Even most of the Psalms go something like “Praise God!  Praise God, wow, we really thought we were goners for a minute there, but we pulled through with God’s help, Bless the Lord!”

There’s also a common thread in these passages, talking about the times now and times to come, and in each one, the writers are waiting for deliverance.  For example, they’re waiting for deliverance in the Psalm, when they say, pray for the peace of Jerusalem...and it’s poignant, because we know that Jerusalem has seen its fair share of war and occupation.  

Ah, Jerusalem...the Psalm really describes the city well, and even today the Old City has towers and strong walls, moats and drawbridges, and places for people who keep watch--in case they were about to be overrun and conquered.  They were looking for deliverance by someone powerful, someone powerful enough to defeat their enemies, who were usually more powerful than they were.  

In fact, when you think of who the people are hoping for throughout these Scriptures, given that they’ve been conquered by Babylonians and Romans and are living in exile or under military occupations, not even free in their own land, think about it:  they’re kind of looking for someone like Bruce Willis, or Rambo, or somebody who can show those other guys who’s boss.  Really, they were kind of hoping for a military genius, someone invincible.

But then God does the unexpected, by bringing deliverance in the form of a baby, not a general.  That seems rather impractical for a people who are constantly overrun by armies and empires!  And yet, this baby is truly a symbol of peace.  And the way that the world is transformed is not by physical aggression or military power, but a transformation of human hearts.  A transformation that says, peace begins within us and we share that peace with one another, a peace that softens hard hearts and heals broken ones.  In fact, in the Romans passage, Paul calls on us to put on “the armor of light,”  not the kind of armor we associate with Roman soldiers just as his original audience would have seen back in the day, but instead, “to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.  This is not armor for battle with weapons.  Instead, it is the armor which only works through love.

Now, again in this season of Advent, but truly at all times, it is the time, to keep awake, to keep alert, for a transformation of peace, a chance for everything to become new again, to live new relationships and lives, a way of re-ordering how we shall live with one another.  Instead of an all-powerful emperor, we receive the unexpected good news of the Kingdom of God.  A kingdom ushered in with a tiny infant in the poorest of shelters.  That kingdom too, has the power to deliver us, no matter how terrible the forces against us.  Thanks be to God!