Luke 21:25-28
Today is the second Sunday in Advent, which is the time when we celebrate and anticipate the arrival of someone very special.
We’ve all experienced a mild form of anticipation lately. My husband and I anticipated our move up here. My former church anticipated having to tell me good-bye and to find a new minister. The search committee anticipated our arrival, which signifies the end to their chores. Kids are beginning to anticipate being out of school for a while. College kids are anticipating a trip home for the holidays. Parents are anticipating the arrival of their kids, grandkids, and parents.
But over and above all that, we’re anticipating the coming of someone extraordinary. This person is going to come at the end of the year. He’s been watching everyone on earth all year long. He sees us everywhere we are, everywhere we go. We can’t hide from him. He knows our every thought. He knows what’s in our hearts.
He knows if we’ve been bad or good. He has a list, and on this list is the name of everyone who’s been good. If our names are on this list, we get a reward. If our names aren’t on the list, we get nothing, or we might even get some kind of punishment.
We wait for his arrival with great anticipation and trepidation. We plan for it. We decorate for it. We buy stuff for it. We spend a lot of money in the hope that his appearance will bring us the warmth and joy and love that we’ve been missing. We place our complete faith in him, hoping that he will be able to release us from the prison of unhappiness, frustration, and pain that we’ve built for ourselves.
In his name we plan great feasts to be shared with our families. For his sake we put aside our differences for a short time and try to get along, if only for a few hours. In his honor we give gifts to one another, are nice to one another, try to recapture the warm, loving feelings we remember from childhood.
Who is this guy? Who is this miracle worker? Who is this person who comes once a year and makes us all try to be better people, at least for a while? Who is this guy that we worship and try to please and curry favor with?
We tell stories about him. We have television programs about him - some that have been on since I was little. We have parties to celebrate his coming. The very thought of him brings peace and goodwill among our friends and neighbors and co-workers.
Let me give you some hints as to this person’s identity.
You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why.
Sound familiar? What does it mean? Watch out, don’t cry, don’t pout. It means be on guard. Be of good cheer. Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy.
He’s making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty and nice.
The Bible talks about a list. One which is found in a very important book. Daniel 12, verse 1 talks about the end times. Daniel has a vision of a man who tells him, "But at that time your people - everyone whose name is found written in the book - will be delivered."
Daniel 7, verses 9 and following, describe a vision of God, "Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened."
In Revelation 3, verse 5, Jesus says to the angel of the church at Sardis, "He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels."
As for the naughty, they’re on a list, too. Revelation 13, verse 8 says that "All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast - all whose names have not been written in the book of life." Remember Revelation 20, verse 15? "If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
Well, you get the picture. There’s a list, and we all want to be on it. Let’s move on.
He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. Psalm 33, verses 13 and 14 tell us that, "From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth."
Matthew 6:6 says, "Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. Let’s see. How about, "Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, ‘Who sees us? Who will know?’
Or this from Revelation 20, verse 12: "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books."
Still stumped? Just can’t figure out whose coming we’re really celebrating this season?
Let’s look at it this way, and maybe we’ll be able to figure it out.
One guy can see all of us. He sees everything we do, hears everything we say, knows everything we think. He watches us all the time and makes a list of everything we do - good or bad. He comes at the end of the year and passes judgment on all of us. If we’ve been good, we get a reward. If we’ve been bad, we get punished. His coming is looked forward to with great anticipation.
The other guy can see all of us. He sees everything we do, hears everything we say, knows everything we think. He watches us all the time and makes a list of everything we do - good or bad. He comes at the end of the time and passes judgment on all of us. If we’ve been good, we get a reward. If we’ve been bad, we get punished. His coming is looked forward to with great fear.
Well, those two people sound identical, don’t they? It seems as if we’re reading about the same person. I guess we’ll have to do a little more research.
There are books written about both these guys. Poems, too. I bet you know this one:
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The poem tells what families will be doing when this guy comes.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap,
And then it tells what we’ll see when he comes.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
It also gives a detailed description of this man himself.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And then we’re told how we’ll react to him.
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
And how he’ll comfort us.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
Well, this is just wonderful. A loving family, a nice home, this guy bringing gifts and good will and peace and love.
But let’s read about the other guy.
Today’s scripture tells us what we’ll see when this person comes.
There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars.
It tells how we’ll react to his arrival.
On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.
It tells us what people will do when they see him.
Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
It tells how this person will arrive.
At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
And then today’s scripture does something different from that poem I read. Instead of comforting us, and assuring us that there’s nothing to dread, the Gospel of Luke, chapter 21, verse 28, gives us this instruction:
When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
Our redemption? Redemption at Christmas time? What’s up with that? I thought this time of year was all about shopping and buying gifts and having parties and feeling good. What does Christmas have to do with redemption?
Advent is the time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. It’s the time when we read the wonderful stories that we love so much about the angel visiting a beautiful young girl and bestowing upon her the greatest gift ever given to a human being - the gift of life of the savior of the world.
We recite the stories of John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus; about the evil Herod who tries to kill Jesus when Jesus was just a baby. About how the angel told the shepherds what was happening. About the kings who came to offer their gold, frankincense, and myrrh. About how Mary and Joseph couldn’t find a room at the inn and ended up having to stay in a lowly stable. All stories that we’re familiar with, that are comfortable to us, that we love to hear. We’re not thinking about redemption.
But what was Jesus’ birth for if not for redemption? For centuries people had been waiting for a savior who would come and depose the rulers who had tormented them and persecuted them for so long. A king who set them free and give them the land that was promised to them by God. And Jesus was sent for that purpose, although not in the way that people wanted.
Jesus was also sent to redeem us as individuals. He died so that we might be redeemed from our sins. But the story doesn’t end there, as we’ve seen in today’s scripture.
Jesus is going to come again. That’s what we should be anticipating at this time of year. Not just having a birthday party for Jesus to mark yet another year since his birth. Not just a time when we can have some fun and spend a little money. Not a time when we shower our kids with worthless junk instead of teaching them the true meaning of Christmas.
And the true meaning of Christmas is redemption. Jesus is coming back, and when he does, our redemption will be at hand. Redemption - not a present under a tree. Not a glass of egg-nog shared with our family. Not a drunken party at the office. Not some useless gift given to us by someone we hardly know.
Redemption. The greatest gift of all. Given by a loving Father to his beloved children. Given by a benevolent king to his loyal subjects. Given to everyone by their personal Lord and Savior.
Have you ever gotten a gift that was just so wonderful, so much more than you had expected, so unbelievably fantastic that you didn’t know how to react?
When we’re given gifts at Christmas time, a lot of us don’t know how to react. We might gush and thank everyone profusely. We may smile shyly and look away. We might make fun of a present that we think is really bad. We might be embarrassed if we get something we feel we don’t truly deserve. Some of us might laugh in delight, or cry from happiness. We might feel hurt that we didn’t get what we wanted, or that we didn’t get anything at all.
But we did get something. At the first Christmas, we were given a priceless gift. One we definitely didn’t deserve. We were given a Savior.
And we’re going to get something else. Redemption. Jesus Christ himself is going to come back and give us this gift in person. He’s going to come in a cloud of power and great glory. He’s going to know if we’ve been naughty or nice.
If we know we’ve been naughty, how will we receive this wondrous gift of redemption? On our knees? Maybe prostrate on the floor, scared to look Jesus in the face? Will we slink into his presence, trying not to be noticed, ashamed of ourselves?
If we know we’ve been nice, how will we act? Will we try to act humble? Demure? Shy? Will we pretend that maybe we think we don’t deserve this gift?
That’s now how we’re supposed to act. Christ himself tells us how to receive this gift. Stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
When Christ comes back to give us this gift, there’s not going to be any false pretenses. It won’t do us any good to pretend like we’re surprised, or like it’s the best darn gift we’ve ever been given. Or maybe like we’re embarrassed that we didn’t get him something, too. Or worse, like we actually did get him something, but we must have left it at home.
When Christ comes to give us the gift of redemption, we’re going to be standing right in front of him, stripped bare all the way to our souls. The time for pretending will be long over.
I guess the best way I can think of to describe how Christ wants us to meet him is this: We’ve all heard people tell someone who’s about to be punished to "stand up and take it like a man." What that means is that if you’re about to receive some form of punishment, you should hold your head up, admit that you deserve what you’re getting, and receive it without complaint.
That’s the way Jesus wants us to receive his gift to us. Stand up on your feet. Hold your head up high. Act like you’re ready to receive this miraculous gift of redemption like a true child of God.
That’s the real meaning of Christmas. God help us to remember that as we enjoy the Advent season.
