For what thanksgiving can we render to God for you, for all the joy which we feel for your sake before our God, praying earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you; and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all men, as we do to you, so that he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
In my file for this First Sunday in Advent, I found an article from "The State" newspaper dated July 27, 1980. The article, entitled "Saga of a Heavenly Hitchhiker," said the Arkansas State police had received two reports - both on a particular Sunday - that a clean-cut, well-dressed hitchhiker had disappeared from cars traveling along highways in the state. The stories went like this: "A middle-aged couple was driving along US 65 between Pine Bluff and Little Rock. They were not folks prone to pick up hitchhikers, but saw this goodlooking, nicely dressed man walking along the highway. Assuming he needed transportation, they offered him a lift. He said, 'Yes, thank you, I'll ride with you for a ways.' While they drove, the conversation turned to world affairs and then the mysterious man said, 'Jesus is coming' - either twice or three times - and then vanished from the moving vehicle." I do not know if this incident is true or a fanatical hoax, but I do believe its message is true - Jesus is coming again. I believe it because that is his promise.
The return of Christ is one of the central themes of the Advent Season which is beginning today. The word "Advent" is derived from two Latin words, "Ad" and "Veneo" - meaning "To Come." The season directs our thoughts to the past and to the future: Looking to the past we remember Christ's first coming to this world as the babe of Bethlehem to redeem Humanity from the bondage to sin, death and the Devil. That coming of the Messiah was promised in Scripture and those prophecies have been completely fulfilled. Looking toward the future we think about the New Testament promises that Christ will return to this earth with glory and power as King of Kings to complete our redemption.
In Acts 1:11, just after Jesus had ascended into heaven, two angels told his disciples, "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go." In the Second Lesson for today, the Apostle Paul made reference to "... the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints," which he wrote about in detail in the fourth chapter of 1 Thessalonians. In today's Gospel from Luke 21, our Lord himself promised that he will return and he told us about the signs which will precede his return. Jesus said, "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth ... for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." That text is saying the entire universe will resonate with Christ's victorious return.
Christ gave us his promise that he will come again and has provided us with signs to help us anticipate his return. The unfortunate thing is, throughout history people have studied those signs and attempted to predict the exact time of Christ's return. In the early nineteenth century, William Miller, a New England farmer of Baptist background, began to study the Scriptures of Daniel and Revelation. As a result of his study, he concluded that the second coming of Christ would occur on March 21, 1843. In 1831, William Miller began to warn the people of America about this cataclysmic event. It is estimated that about 100,000 people were converted to Miller's interpretation of the Scriptures. At the beginning of 1843, Miller proclaimed: "This year ... O glorious year, the trumpet of jubilee will be blown ... This year, the looked-for year of years, has come!"
March 21, 1843, came and went but there was no blowing of the archangel's trumpet - Christ did not return. Miller came to the conclusion that he had made the mistake of using a Roman calendar instead of a Jewish calendar. After recalculating, he announced that the second coming of Christ would be in October, 1844. But again the day came and there was no sounding trumpet, no Christ in the clouds, no second coming of the Lord.
In every generation there are those well-meaning Christians who use the Bible as a kind of crystal ball with which they try to predict the future return of Christ. But the Lord told us plainly that such efforts are futile! In Matthew 24:36 Jesus said the following about the time of his return: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." You see, it is impossible for us to know when Christ will return. He has chosen not to reveal that information to us. He wants us to live by faith, not sight or guesswork. He simply wants us to take him at his word, trusting him to return when he determines the time to be right. Not knowing when he will come gives us the privilege and responsibility of living in constant preparedness for the coming of our Lord. We are to live each day as if we expect Christ to return in the very next moment.
Even though we cannot predict Christ's second coming, we can expect it without doubt! Our Lord will do what he has promised to do! Think about it: God promised to send the Messiah into the world and that promise was fulfilled when Jesus was born in Bethlehem - an event we are now preparing to celebrate. God also promised that Jesus will return as victorious Lord of Lords and King of Kings. We can expect him to come when he determines the time to be right. And when Christ comes, our redemption - which he won for us on the cross of Calvary - will be given to us completely as he rescues us from the pains and perils of this life. As the Gospel for today says, "On that day we are to look up and raise our heads, because our redemption will be drawing near." What a glorious day that will be!
But between now and then, which may be two minutes, two years, or 2000 years, you and I and all believers must wait - hopefully and patiently. Waiting patiently is almost a lost virtue in these days of instant foods, microwave cooking, and computer speed answers. Patience is specially hard when we are waiting for something we anticipate with great joy and excitement such as the glorious return of Christ. Think of how hard it is to wait for that new family car you ordered or the new bike you've been promised. Think of how difficult it is for students at this time of year to wait patiently for the Christmas Vacation. Notice during the next few weeks how hard it is for children to see all the signs of the season and still wait patiently for Christmas Morning.
The same struggle is experienced by us Christians who try to wait patiently for the return of Christ our Lord. We eagerly anticipate the day when our complete redemption will be given to us. It is hard to be patient as we wait for the day when we will be set free from all the pain and temptation we experience in this earthly life. It's hard to wait patiently for the day when we will be united with Christ and reunited with those we love who have died before us. It's difficult to be patient as we wait for that glorious heavenly banquet in which we will feast with God and his people and he will wipe away all tears from our eyes.
On this Sunday after Thanksgiving, how well I remember the Thanksgiving Days of my youth. What a special time that was for our family. How we enjoyed the meal and just being together. I can remember how hard it was to wait for the delicious meal Mother would cook all the morning. The house was permeated with mouth-watering aromas. At times my patience would wear thin - I'd go into the kitchen and ask Mother how much longer it would be until we ate. Inevitably she would say, "Be patient son. We'll eat when all is ready." To help me wait, she would pinch off a little piece of turkey or bread as a foretaste of the delicious banquet that was soon to be enjoyed by our whole family.
That illustrates for me how it is in God's family as we wait for the heavenly banquet. In a similar way, we ask, "How long, O Lord? How much longer do we have to wait for your return. How long do we have to endure the pains, burdens, sorrows and temptations of this life? How much longer will it be before we can celebrate the heavenly banquet with you and all your family?" Then the Lord whispers to us, "Be patient my child, be patient. It will be a while longer for all is not yet ready." Then Christ comes to us in Holy Communion and gives us a foretaste - just a sampling - of the glorious banquet he is preparing for us in the halls of heaven.
The menu of bread and wine is not the important thing for those are only the earthly channels through which we receive heavenly blessings. No, we get something better than food. In Holy Communion, God gives us a foretaste of the fellowship with him which will be made perfect on that day of redemption when we will see him face to face. He gives us a nibble of his graciousness as he forgives our sins and strengthens us to go on and face tomorrow with him. God gives us a sampling of his love as he invites us to lay all of our burdens into his hands and leave them there as we anticipate the day when he will make sure we have no burdens at all to bear.
But in Holy Communion, we must remember, we receive only a morsel, only a sampling, only a foretaste of what Christ has in store for us around his heavenly banquet table where we will feast with him for eternity. The Bread and Wine of which we are about to partake serve only as an appetizer to help us wait more patiently, more expectantly and more faithfully for Christ's visible and victorious return to this earth.
So on this first Sunday in Advent, we realize that we don't need a heavenly hitchhiker to tell us the news, for we have the promise of the King himself that Jesus is coming again! We cannot predict the exact time of Christ's return but we can expect his return at any time. As we wait patiently to see our Lord face to face, let's gather at his Table and receive a foretaste of what's in store for us.