Here Comes The Judge
Sermon
Here Comes The King
Sermons And Children's Lessons For Advent, Christmas And Epiphany
Some 450 years ago, Johann Horn wrote a hymn whose opening verse puts the second coming of Jesus Christ in the perspective of his first advent. It begins:
Once he came in blessing,
All our ills redressing;
Came in likeness lowly,
Son of God most holy;
Bore the cross to save us,
Hope and freedom gave us.
But the development of the hymn accommodates one of the twists in the thinking and expectations of contemporary Christians who find it difficult to believe that Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will come to the earth a second time. We try to "interiorize" Jesus, because future eschatology (the last things) is not easy for us today (has it ever been?) particularly when it asserts the inevitability of the second coming of the Christ. Didn't the disciples say, "Lord, when will these things happen?" Were they certain that they would, that the Lord would come again? Realized/present eschatology - that he has come and comes to us through the Holy Spirit - is easy to accept so we readily affirm that Christ came to the earth as the Anointed One, the Savior of all. And we sing, rather easily, the next verse of the hymn as an expression of realized and present contemporary theology:
Still he comes within us;
Still his voice would win us
From the sins that hurt us;
Would to truth convert us
From our foolish error....
But the last line is difficult:
Ere he comes in terror.3
It is just possible that present and realized eschatologies are the only eschatologies that we have. Do we really believe that he will come again at the end of the age? And that he will come "in terror" as judge and ruler of the world?
To speak of the second coming of Christ, not simply as one of the themes of Advent but as the main theme, seems to be an exercise in futility. We get all worked up over the impossibility of it, don't we? That may be why we try to ignore what Jesus himself said about his ultimate return to this earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. Why shouldn't we concentrate on the celebration of Jesus' birth on Christmas? Here's something concrete, an event that we can participate in because - aside from the mystery of the incarnation, which we will never be able to prove or disprove - we have experienced birth ourselves. Just what the Lord meant about his second coming - not only its possibility or impossibility, but how and when he will return - is bound to be controversial and difficult to believe. Biblical scholars and theologians disagree on the details of the second coming of Jesus Christ but this much is evident: Jesus really believed that he would come again at the end of time as human beings count it. That's central to Advent; his final return is to be anticipated and prepared for as a celebration which is yet to occur.
Notice, please, that what was said about the second coming was said by Jesus, not by the angels or the prophets. Now, some events and movements are bound to happen, even when they are controversial. About a quarter of a century ago, my wife and I were among the guests in the home of the late Dr. and Mrs. James S. Stewart, the great preacher and beloved professor, in Edinburgh, Scotland. The discussion finally centered on the ordination of women to the ministry, for at least two reasons: First, the Church of Scotland, at its annual assembly, had almost passed an ordinance supporting the ordination of women to the ordained ministry - the delegates were virtually divided in half over this issue; and, second, a young American woman, who was studying theology at New College of the University of Edinburgh and who was engaged to a Scottish graduate student, made it quite evident that she wanted to be the first woman who would be ordained by the Church of Scotland. When pressed for his opinion, Dr. Stewart said, "There is nothing in the New Testament that would prevent the ordination of women; biblical theology does not eliminate it." He indicated that he, a past moderator of the Church of Scotland and a chaplain to the Queen of England, was for it and he stated that he believed it would surely become a reality. Sometimes we can see the writing on the wall and even read it with a degree of accuracy!
Jesus believed that he would come a second time to judge the world and rule over God's creation as King of kings, ushering in the fullness of the kingdom of God. This much we may be positive about: He predicted his death and his resurrection and he was right about both of them! Death was one thing; after all, we all have to die and it is possible to see the approach of death. But resurrection? That is something else, and Jesus not only declared three times that he would die and rise again, he did rise on the third day. He was right about that, wasn't he? And you and I, who believe in his resurrection, ought to affirm and expect his return, if we call ourselves Christians. An interiorized, and limited, faith in Jesus Christ that has no eternal dimensions is tragic. Remember that Paul said as much to the Corinthian Christians in the great resurrection chapter, his first letter to them: "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied."
We had better be able to believe that Jesus is the living and ascended Lord, and that he has indeed prepared a future for us and a way, in himself, to realize it, or life can get pointless and meaningless before we know it. We have an 83-year-old woman living up the street; she has been widowed more than 20 years, but has lived a very full life until recently. Her health has broken down and she can't get around and do the things she used to do; she can't always go to church. She has even given her car to a granddaughter because, she declared, "I am no longer a 'safe driver.' " She went on to say, "Life was great in the '70s, but it is not very pleasant now that I am in my '80s." But she is not depressed, nor does she seem to have any fear of impending death; her faith in the risen Lord is firm, and her hope in Christ is obviously in place. In some ways, she lives in the past, but the kingdom of heaven remains a reality for her.
In one of his last books, The Wind Of The Spirit, James S. Stewart, who was not far from his own death, wrote: "And what of our own life? Jesus was looking across the 40 years in the story of Jerusalem (when he cried for the impending destruction that he saw was in its near future). How many years in our life story does he see still to come? Far less than 40 for most of us here.... The natural man within us builds so feverishly our futile, frail defenses - health, possessions, business stability, financial security - to keep the inevitable at bay. We try to hold and perpetuate the fleeting present against the unknown menace of the future and the ravaging attrition of the years. And Christ, looking at us, can only stand and weep." He continues, "But Christ tells us something more today. One absolute security remains - even in this world where 'all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the glory of grass' - one unassailable fact abides: 'the grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of the Lord endureth for ever.' What, then, have we to do? What but take that abiding word into our heart and join our mortal nature to the immortality of God? Nothing can destroy the life in which Christ has his dwelling and his throne."4
Our business, Advent is attempting to instruct us, is to take Jesus at his word and believe that he who conquered death on the cross and came forth from the tomb is able to come and bring in the fullness of God's kingdom. Advent really brings us down to earth and helps us to celebrate the birth of Christ in proper perspective - an action of the God of heaven and earth. And because we are not yet "finished products" we are, in faith and hope, still being formed and shaped by God. I like the way Robert P. Roth puts it:
The city of earth with its historical phase is a via dolorosa. We must go the way of the cross to arrive at the glorious conclusion of the resurrection (the parousia). On the way we do not solicit the sympathetic weeping of bystanders. That was the way of the pagan hero. His tragedy evoked pity. The biblical hero in God's story stirs in us a mysterious awe. We are drawn to his suffering with reverential love. We look up to his painful death with worshipful joy, and we take up our cross. We do not seek to suffer but we go forward in our pilgrimage turning every torment into a triumph. This place becomes a time of discipline, a schooling and training in which we grow strong in faith by fixing our eyes on Jesus, the "Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)." The tragic victory of Christ produces in our tragic story a resolution of grace, not one of success nor one of escape.5
God, through Christ, makes life worth living, for the best is yet to be; it is not simply something that happened in the past. Jesus has the power to do what he says, what he promises, even to return in glory, and when he comes with power, it will be glorious indeed.
That's what Advent is really all about: the expectation that Jesus Christ will come to the earth again, a final and lasting chapter in his mission that began 2,000 years ago will become reality. He will come with unlimited power; human beings will not be able to stand up against him, oppose him, or deny his identity as not only "The King of the Jews" but the King of kings, the Lord and Ruler of all people in his world. Then and there the plans of God for humanity and the earth will finally - and gloriously - be fulfilled forever.
Advent is really living "in the meantime" now and until he comes again. "In the meantime," our business is not to sit around and worry, or speculate, about the nature of the end of the world, but to be "out and about" - active, allowing our faith positive expression by the way we live and the good we do in the name of Jesus Christ. Our attention and actions need to be focused on saving and preserving the world and life in it, rather than fearing catastrophes that may come and possibly wipe out all life on earth. That's what he asks of us. That's what he expects of us, in the meantime, because he is alive, alive in the world and alive in us. He arose from the dead and we live in him right now, and that means that we live in faith and hope, and positive and dynamic action "in the meantime."
"In the meantime" means, "Here comes our judge" right now! We know he will really come again as judge at the end of time, and when he comes we will be judged on what we do and what we don't do right now! Think of that and act on it, "in the meantime."
Once he came in blessing,
All our ills redressing;
Came in likeness lowly,
Son of God most holy;
Bore the cross to save us,
Hope and freedom gave us.
But the development of the hymn accommodates one of the twists in the thinking and expectations of contemporary Christians who find it difficult to believe that Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will come to the earth a second time. We try to "interiorize" Jesus, because future eschatology (the last things) is not easy for us today (has it ever been?) particularly when it asserts the inevitability of the second coming of the Christ. Didn't the disciples say, "Lord, when will these things happen?" Were they certain that they would, that the Lord would come again? Realized/present eschatology - that he has come and comes to us through the Holy Spirit - is easy to accept so we readily affirm that Christ came to the earth as the Anointed One, the Savior of all. And we sing, rather easily, the next verse of the hymn as an expression of realized and present contemporary theology:
Still he comes within us;
Still his voice would win us
From the sins that hurt us;
Would to truth convert us
From our foolish error....
But the last line is difficult:
Ere he comes in terror.3
It is just possible that present and realized eschatologies are the only eschatologies that we have. Do we really believe that he will come again at the end of the age? And that he will come "in terror" as judge and ruler of the world?
To speak of the second coming of Christ, not simply as one of the themes of Advent but as the main theme, seems to be an exercise in futility. We get all worked up over the impossibility of it, don't we? That may be why we try to ignore what Jesus himself said about his ultimate return to this earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. Why shouldn't we concentrate on the celebration of Jesus' birth on Christmas? Here's something concrete, an event that we can participate in because - aside from the mystery of the incarnation, which we will never be able to prove or disprove - we have experienced birth ourselves. Just what the Lord meant about his second coming - not only its possibility or impossibility, but how and when he will return - is bound to be controversial and difficult to believe. Biblical scholars and theologians disagree on the details of the second coming of Jesus Christ but this much is evident: Jesus really believed that he would come again at the end of time as human beings count it. That's central to Advent; his final return is to be anticipated and prepared for as a celebration which is yet to occur.
Notice, please, that what was said about the second coming was said by Jesus, not by the angels or the prophets. Now, some events and movements are bound to happen, even when they are controversial. About a quarter of a century ago, my wife and I were among the guests in the home of the late Dr. and Mrs. James S. Stewart, the great preacher and beloved professor, in Edinburgh, Scotland. The discussion finally centered on the ordination of women to the ministry, for at least two reasons: First, the Church of Scotland, at its annual assembly, had almost passed an ordinance supporting the ordination of women to the ordained ministry - the delegates were virtually divided in half over this issue; and, second, a young American woman, who was studying theology at New College of the University of Edinburgh and who was engaged to a Scottish graduate student, made it quite evident that she wanted to be the first woman who would be ordained by the Church of Scotland. When pressed for his opinion, Dr. Stewart said, "There is nothing in the New Testament that would prevent the ordination of women; biblical theology does not eliminate it." He indicated that he, a past moderator of the Church of Scotland and a chaplain to the Queen of England, was for it and he stated that he believed it would surely become a reality. Sometimes we can see the writing on the wall and even read it with a degree of accuracy!
Jesus believed that he would come a second time to judge the world and rule over God's creation as King of kings, ushering in the fullness of the kingdom of God. This much we may be positive about: He predicted his death and his resurrection and he was right about both of them! Death was one thing; after all, we all have to die and it is possible to see the approach of death. But resurrection? That is something else, and Jesus not only declared three times that he would die and rise again, he did rise on the third day. He was right about that, wasn't he? And you and I, who believe in his resurrection, ought to affirm and expect his return, if we call ourselves Christians. An interiorized, and limited, faith in Jesus Christ that has no eternal dimensions is tragic. Remember that Paul said as much to the Corinthian Christians in the great resurrection chapter, his first letter to them: "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied."
We had better be able to believe that Jesus is the living and ascended Lord, and that he has indeed prepared a future for us and a way, in himself, to realize it, or life can get pointless and meaningless before we know it. We have an 83-year-old woman living up the street; she has been widowed more than 20 years, but has lived a very full life until recently. Her health has broken down and she can't get around and do the things she used to do; she can't always go to church. She has even given her car to a granddaughter because, she declared, "I am no longer a 'safe driver.' " She went on to say, "Life was great in the '70s, but it is not very pleasant now that I am in my '80s." But she is not depressed, nor does she seem to have any fear of impending death; her faith in the risen Lord is firm, and her hope in Christ is obviously in place. In some ways, she lives in the past, but the kingdom of heaven remains a reality for her.
In one of his last books, The Wind Of The Spirit, James S. Stewart, who was not far from his own death, wrote: "And what of our own life? Jesus was looking across the 40 years in the story of Jerusalem (when he cried for the impending destruction that he saw was in its near future). How many years in our life story does he see still to come? Far less than 40 for most of us here.... The natural man within us builds so feverishly our futile, frail defenses - health, possessions, business stability, financial security - to keep the inevitable at bay. We try to hold and perpetuate the fleeting present against the unknown menace of the future and the ravaging attrition of the years. And Christ, looking at us, can only stand and weep." He continues, "But Christ tells us something more today. One absolute security remains - even in this world where 'all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the glory of grass' - one unassailable fact abides: 'the grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of the Lord endureth for ever.' What, then, have we to do? What but take that abiding word into our heart and join our mortal nature to the immortality of God? Nothing can destroy the life in which Christ has his dwelling and his throne."4
Our business, Advent is attempting to instruct us, is to take Jesus at his word and believe that he who conquered death on the cross and came forth from the tomb is able to come and bring in the fullness of God's kingdom. Advent really brings us down to earth and helps us to celebrate the birth of Christ in proper perspective - an action of the God of heaven and earth. And because we are not yet "finished products" we are, in faith and hope, still being formed and shaped by God. I like the way Robert P. Roth puts it:
The city of earth with its historical phase is a via dolorosa. We must go the way of the cross to arrive at the glorious conclusion of the resurrection (the parousia). On the way we do not solicit the sympathetic weeping of bystanders. That was the way of the pagan hero. His tragedy evoked pity. The biblical hero in God's story stirs in us a mysterious awe. We are drawn to his suffering with reverential love. We look up to his painful death with worshipful joy, and we take up our cross. We do not seek to suffer but we go forward in our pilgrimage turning every torment into a triumph. This place becomes a time of discipline, a schooling and training in which we grow strong in faith by fixing our eyes on Jesus, the "Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)." The tragic victory of Christ produces in our tragic story a resolution of grace, not one of success nor one of escape.5
God, through Christ, makes life worth living, for the best is yet to be; it is not simply something that happened in the past. Jesus has the power to do what he says, what he promises, even to return in glory, and when he comes with power, it will be glorious indeed.
That's what Advent is really all about: the expectation that Jesus Christ will come to the earth again, a final and lasting chapter in his mission that began 2,000 years ago will become reality. He will come with unlimited power; human beings will not be able to stand up against him, oppose him, or deny his identity as not only "The King of the Jews" but the King of kings, the Lord and Ruler of all people in his world. Then and there the plans of God for humanity and the earth will finally - and gloriously - be fulfilled forever.
Advent is really living "in the meantime" now and until he comes again. "In the meantime," our business is not to sit around and worry, or speculate, about the nature of the end of the world, but to be "out and about" - active, allowing our faith positive expression by the way we live and the good we do in the name of Jesus Christ. Our attention and actions need to be focused on saving and preserving the world and life in it, rather than fearing catastrophes that may come and possibly wipe out all life on earth. That's what he asks of us. That's what he expects of us, in the meantime, because he is alive, alive in the world and alive in us. He arose from the dead and we live in him right now, and that means that we live in faith and hope, and positive and dynamic action "in the meantime."
"In the meantime" means, "Here comes our judge" right now! We know he will really come again as judge at the end of time, and when he comes we will be judged on what we do and what we don't do right now! Think of that and act on it, "in the meantime."
