TSJ/TSL 03-12 -17
Mark 13:24-37
Lew Slade records the scene in his sermon entitled : The Second Coming
"It is just before midnight on October 22 1844.
Come with me to a hillside just outside New York.
It’s a balmy evening and we are standing in an enormous crowd numbering upwards of 100 000 men, women and children.
All around us there is the low buzz of whispered voices as men exchange stories of how they have sold their homes, given up their jobs or abandoned their farms to be here.
An almost tangible air of expectation hangs over the gathering.
Standing at the top of the hill is a lone figure – his name is William Miller – and most of the eyes
in the crowd are trained on him.
He is their leader.
He is the man who has spent years studying the prophecies in the Book of Daniel and has predicted the second coming of Christ at midnight on this day.
Needless to say midnight comes and goes and slowly, sadly, certainly reluctantly, the crowd begins to drift away.
Some, who have wagered their entire livelihoods on the truth of Miller’s words, hesitate a little longer looking skywards expecting at any moment that they will see, in Jesus’ own words, the “Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.”
But as we know, it was not to be.
And now, rather than looking to the Old Testament prophets to give us a clue to the future, we believe the words of Jesus when he says,
“No-one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.""
(My thanks to Lew Slade https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-second-coming-lew-slade-sermon-on-second-coming-102837?ref=SermonSerps for this version of the well known story)
What was so incredible to me was that that was the FOURTH time Miller had prophesied the return of Jesus.
The first date Miller prophesied was 21st March 1842.
Then he revised the date to 3rd April 1843.
When that was a “no show” he revised it again to 18th April 1844.
And his final prophecy was 22nd October 1844.
Having been wrong three times already, I am utterly surprised why anyone believed him for a fourth time.
But this is what one account notes
“Fields were left unharvested, shops were closed, people quit their jobs, paid their debts, and freely gave away their possessions with no thought of repayment.”
If you are interested in the Second Coming of Christ it is essential to know what Jesus himself said on the matter.
32 “But no one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows. (Mk 13:32)
Introduction
Popularily, Advent is a time when we look forward to the Birth of Jesus two thousand years ago in a stable in Bethlehem.
So when I first looked at the Lectionary reading for today I wondered what does passage that majors on the Second Coming of Christ - have to do with Advent!!!
An article in Christianity explained the history behind Advent as this:
The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming,” which is a translation of the Greek word parousia.
"Scholars believe that during the 4th and 5th centuries in Spain and Gaul, Advent was
i) a season of preparation for the baptism of new Christians at the January feast of Epiphany,
ii) the celebration of God’s incarnation represented by the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:1),
iii) his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist (John 1:29), and
iv) his first miracle at Cana (John 2:1).
During this season of preparation, Christians would spend 40 days in penance, prayer, and fasting to prepare for this celebration; originally, there was little connection between Advent and Christmas.
By the 6th century, however, Roman Christians had tied Advent to the coming of Christ.
But the “coming” they had in mind was not Christ’s first coming in the manger in Bethlehem, but his second coming in the clouds as the judge of the world.
It was not until the Middle Ages that the Advent season was explicitly linked to Christ’s first coming at Christmas.
Advent Today
Today, the season of Advent lasts for four Sundays leading up to Christmas.
At that time, the new Christian year begins with the twelve-day celebration of Christmastide, which lasts from Christmas Eve until Epiphany on January 6. (Advent begins on the Sunday that falls between November 27th and December 3rd each year.) (https://www.christianity.com/christian-life/christmas/what-is-advent.html)
So not only is it a time to look forward to the birth of Christ bit it is also the time we look forward to Christ's Second Coming.
But as I reflected on that meaning of Advent, I found myself drawn to three ideas in the Gospel passage.
Ideas that I think are useful to reflect on during Advent.
1. He is coming again
The first of these ideas was that, as we prepare to remember Jesus's coming to this earth two thousand years ago as a baby in Bethlehem - so we can look forward to his Second Coming in glory - one day.
And that is something special to look forward to.
Jesus said, speaking about his Second Coming:
26"At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
The great Christian hope that HE WILL COME AGAIN and he will usher in a new heaven and a new earth, where there will be no more tears, no more suffering and Jesus will be the light in our midst. (Rev 21 and 22)
Perhaps we should live our lives, all the year round, as an ADVENT preparing for that event.
2. God has work for us to do on earth.
The second of these ideas was that God still has work for us to do on earth.
We are called to live our Christian life in our communities – loving our neighbours as ourselves – sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with our neighbours.
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus had this
to say about the time in which we are living – leading up to the Second Coming:
34It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back--whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.
God has put mankind in charge of this world – and, as the Church he expects us to fulfil His mission for us here on earth.
And you will recall that he gave the Church one great Commission:
18 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Mt. 28:18-19)
Britain is a deeply “spiritually inquisitive” nation.
How else can we account for the avid addiction to horoscopes in the national press and on television.
Story: When Maddy and I were lay members of the Anglican Chaplaincy Team in the Wolds Prison, in East Yorkshire we found that lots of prisoners would pour over the Bible – fascinated by the prophecies of Revelation.
But few of them would go further and commit their lives to Christ.
Jesus wants us to focus on living the Christian life today, not dreaming of the future.
He wanted us to be secure in the knowledge that He will come again – but he does NOT want us to be ‘star gazing’.
Story: Martin Luther is reputed to have said that even if he knew Christ was going to return tomorrow, he would still plant an apple tree.
At Jesus’ Ascension in Acts 1:10-11, the eleven disciples were left gobsmacked and star gazing.
Two angels were sent to remind them that God still has a mission for them
Let me read from Acts 1:10 and 11
10 And while they were steadily looking towards heaven as Jesus went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel. 11. And they said to them: Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up to heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven
3. Watch, be alert
The final thought that I would like to leave you with - from our Gospel reading this morning - is that Jesus wants us to be alert.
He wants us to be so well schooled in the Scriptures that we cannot be taken in by false prophets ,as the Millerites were about 173 years ago.
When I was a young Christian, I was taught to challenge everything I heard from the pulpit. To ask myself the question: Does what is being preached coincide with a reasonable interpretation of Scripture.
This Gospel passage is a challenge to carefully mull over what we hear from our pulpits over this Christmas period
Conclusion
In conclusion, our Gospel reading encourages us to know
1. that one day Jesus will return in glory and that we are living in the ADVENT of that time
2. that Jesus wants us to go on living as if he was coming tomorrow - to be on RED ALERT. If he came tomorrow, would you be embarrassed by what he would find you doing? and
3. Jesus wants us to be on our guard – against being led astray by false prophets and teachers.
