Come to us Holy one
To challenge our complacency
Come to us Holy one
To fill the hungry with good things
Come to us Holy one
To exalt the lowly and meek.
Song ‘Into the darkness of this world”
We say the Lords Prayer in our own language
Reflection on Luke 21:25-38
In this text from Luke’s gospel we have the signs of the end and the coming again of Jesus. It’s a very strange text for Advent!
Having spoken of the destruction of Jerusalem, the disciples ask Jesus "when will this be and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" Jerusalem was surrounded by armies." Jesus goes on to outline the signs of dreadful portents and persecution, v9-19, and then identifies the sign that heralds the end. The nations will be distressed. The seas will be distressed, a possible illusion to global warming. (The Jewish people then feared the power of the sea). People will faint with fear and panic. Even the stars will appear to shake. So then Jesus alludes to Daniel 7:13-14 and the coming of the Son of Man. This heralds the end times. And he comes with his angels, just as at his birth, and the people of the earth will be gathered together. So when these things take place, wake up! Then we get the parable of the fig tree. As new sprouts on the fig tree tell us that summer is near, so the presence of these signs tell us that God's eternal reign is near.
Now the symbol of the fig tree coming into leaf is a sign of Gods coming blessing (Joel 2v22). So Jesus emphasis was to direct the hearers to the blessing that was the coming salvation. The dead fig tree is suddenly green and has life.. Someone was coming who would begin to build the upside down kingdom and restore values to society. Truth into a society that had lost its way. He would turn people back to God. Hope into darkness!
The destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem happened in AD 68-70 so it occurred in the generation of those hearing Jesus words. The Christians fled Jerusalem before its destruction by Rome in 70AD.
The Christmas festival is symbolized by light, a light shining in darkness and the coming of hope. The story of the coming of Christ is a vehicle of hope to feed our spirits and our imaginations in dark times like now. We like the church throughout the world on this Advent Sunday, are waiting. It is a time of preparation.
How many of us have given up on hope? We have stopped praying for miracles, for healing both physical and emotional, for healing of broken painful relationships, for change. How many of us face difficult and hopeless situations at this Advent time? Situations that perhaps only you know of, and yet the message of God to us is one of hope whatever our situation.
Hope comes to us in unexpected ways, when we least expect it, in a dream, or in a moment of inspiration, through a friend, or even someone we dislike. God uses surprising people as a vehicle of hope. We may feel the presence of God suddenly, feel peace and strength and realize that God is with us in all things and especially in the difficulties we face.
For many of us we need to feel the brush of angels wings and the whisper of hope this Advent, this waiting time. God given hope is not optimism, or sentimentality, based on ignorance or naivite. It is based quite simply in a trust in God. The God who brings light into darkness, and speaks to us. We are waiting and making preparation for this coming! Amen
We pray for our world, our country, our family and friends at this Advent time and especially we remember the asylum seekers who lost their lives this week and their families. Lord in your mercy. Hear our Prayers
Song “O Come O Come”
Come Holy Child, shatter our coldness
Come Holy Spirit, whisper through our lives
Come Holy Light, scatter the darkness
Come Holy God, be born in us today.
