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I don't know about you, but I cannot believe that we are at the end of the year. Actually, church-wise we are at the beginning of the year. Advent is upon us... and by the time December rolls around, we will have put 25% of the Advent Sundays behind us! Advent is a season that ritualizes for the Christian what Karl Barth referred to as the 'between times.' Normally, explanations about Advent point out that we are awaiting the coming of Jesus in Bethlehem (the Incarnation) and we are awaiting the coming of Christ in the second coming (the Parousia). While it makes for a handy distinction, my experience is that a lot of people are in one place or the other... but not in both. Talking about the end times is something that some folks don't relish. Christmas is the in-breaking of God into history. That's the heart of the gospel. A baby in a manger grows up to be the savior of the world. That's history. That is an event with evidence to back it up. That is an event that has already happened. On the other hand, other folks think that the second coming is the absolute heart of the gospel. Jesus had said he would be back at the end. Even without a date certain, the important activity of a Christian is to scour the Bible for clues and be on the look out for signs of an event that lacks the historical traction of the nativity. Indeed, it is an event that is not yet. The problem with either/or instead of both/and is that discounting the end times can produce apathy, and obsession with the end times can produce anxiety. Luckily Advent anticipates this. Advent is about faith (which conquers apathy) and hope (which conquers anxiety). Neither apathy nor anxiety will nourish your soul in the midst of secular pre-holiday chaos. Only a faithful God who was... and is... and is to come... can accomplish that sizable task! Susan+ |
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Last Modified: January 31, 2012 |
