主題---時候將到 證道: 吳柏翰 牧師
耶利米書
33:14 上主說：「時候將到，我要實現我對以色列和猶大人民的諾言。
33:15 那時，我要為大衛興起正義的『枝子』；他要在這片土地上以公平正義治國。
33:16 在他統治下，猶大人民將安居樂業，耶路撒冷人享受太平。這城將被稱為『上主─我們的正義』。
路加福音
21:25 「那時候，太陽、月亮、星星都要顯出異象。地上的國家都要因海洋的怒嘯而驚惶失措。
21:26 人人在等待著那將要臨到世上的事，恐懼戰慄以至於昏厥，因為太空的一切系統都要搖動。
21:27 那時候，人子要出現，充滿著大能力和榮耀駕雲降臨。
21:28 這些事發生的時候，你們要昂首挺胸，因為你們得救的日子就到了！」
21:29 耶穌又對他們講一個比喻：「你們看看無花果樹和其他的各種樹。
21:30 它們一長出新葉，你們就知道夏天快到了。
21:31 同樣，你們看見這一切的現象就知道上帝的主權快要實現了。
21:32 「你們要記住：這一代的人還沒有都去世以前，這一切事就要發生。
21:33 天地要消失，我的話卻永不消失。」
必須警醒
21:34 「你們自己要警醒！不要讓酒肉和生活上的憂慮麻痹你們的心靈，恐怕那日子要忽然臨到你們。因為那日子
21:35 像羅網一樣，要臨到全世界所有的人身上。
21:36 你們要警醒，不斷地禱告，使你們有力量忍受一切要發生的事，得以站在人子面前。」
Sermon: The Days Are Coming
-- Rev. Paul WuScriptures:
Jeremiah 33: 14-16
'The days are coming,' declares the LORD,
Luke 21: 25-36
25"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
29He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32"I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
34"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
Reflections:
- The Coming Christmas Shopping Season
Listen to this radio commercial that is playing across the airwave recently: A middle-age man was reading, using a childish voice, “Dear Santa, I have been a good little girl. So all I want for this Christmas is a Honda in red, or in green.” Then the man turned around and said to his young daughter, “Here honey, sign this.” The daughter replied, “But daddy, I really want a puppy!” The man answered, “Uh…think of it as a puppy with wheel, sweetheart.”
Welcome to the Christmas shopping season! Starting from now until the end of December, North Americans are preparing to spend an enormous amount of money on buying gifts for others and for themselves. Down in the United States, as they are celebrating Thanksgiving weekend, retail stores are gearing up for the inevitable rush of mad shoppers who will be literally trampling over each other to get to the ‘next deal’. Retail sectors survive and thrive based entirely on the profits generated this coming month. We, the consumers, will be bombarded with messages of what to buy, where to buy, and how buying the next big thing will somehow satisfied our urge, and will make us happy.
Have be become trapped in this ‘make-believe’ happiness? Are we so impressed with our achievements, imaging that our affluence and our capacity to buy are somehow signs of well-being? Are we tempted to conclude that, ‘it doesn’t get any better than this’?
I think in someway that we are trapped, and that is why we hold desperately to the way things are. We resist change; we reject intrusion of what is new; we assume a posture of defensiveness to guard our way of life.
- The Coming Days of the Lord (Jeremiah 33:14-16)
Advent, that is the four Sundays leading up to the birth of Christ, is an invitation to see the world differently. Advent invites us not to be so entrapped with the present, not to be satisfied with things as they are, not to be so defensive of our current way of life. Advent is an insertion that places our present under judgement. The present will end – and we cannot stop it from ending. It will be replaced by another way of life that God will give. Advent invites us to live precisely at the point where the present ends and God’s new future begins to transform.
Our Scripture lesson of Jeremiah begins with a proclamation by God that, ‘the days are coming’. Notice the word ‘righteous’ or ‘righteousness’ occurs three times in these passages: in verse 15, “a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and righteous in the land.” And in verse 16, the name of the city will be called “The LORD Our Righteousness”
God’s promise is a new reality, shaped by righteousness and justice that will transform us. This theme of ‘justice and righteousness’ is central to biblical hope. It is a vision of a new relationship – between God and the created world, between neighbours and neighbours. In this new relationship, all will ‘live in safety’ (as in v.16). There will be no threat or fear or hurt or exploitation. God will overcome the power of evil. It is a promise! That days are surly coming!
- The Coming Son of Man (Luke 21: 25-33)
In the passage of Luke 21: 25-28, Jesus taught about the sign of the coming of the Son of Man. Great changes will be taking place on earth and in heaven. Nations, that is everyone, are in a state of panic, because people have grown accustomed to the old way of life. All of us have a stake in the old arrangement where we enjoy advantage due to someone else’s disadvantage. Changes are not welcomed because we fear what we do not know. However, we are also instructed to stand up and to lift up our head, because these changes are necessary. They are the signs of the coming Son of Man in his full glory where God will realize the new way of life based on justice and righteousness.
The coming of summer is a way of speaking of the time for judgement, which is very, very near (v.29-30). Jesus and the early church believe that the Kingdom of God, that is the establishment of God righteousness on earth is happening soon. In Advent, we reflect on this newness that is near, a newness that we need to be ready at all time.
- Being Ready for God (Luke 21: 34-36)
Readiness for the Kingdom of God is the subject of verse 34-36. The passage warns us about being weighed down with self-indulgence, as in dissipation, drunkenness, and anxieties of life. We may consider such self-indulgence as the Christmas shopping season where the message of commerce has already replaced the message of ‘the Word became flesh’. We may consider the anxieties of life as our never-ending pursuit of success, security, and satisfaction.
Advent is a time for reflection and self-assessment. It is a time to look at how entrapped we are in our own little world, and how satisfied we are of our own little security. In Advent, we are invited to ‘be careful’ (v.34). We are invited to ‘watch and pray’ (v.36).
The passage in Jeremiah spoke of the coming new king; the passage in Luke talked about the coming ‘Son of Man’. Both are signs that point to Christ Jesus who is the embodiment of God’s new age of righteousness. Only in Christ, do we have this gift of right relationship with others, right distribution of power, and the right way of life. Only in Christ!
So brothers and sister in Christ, let us ‘be careful’ and let us ‘watch and pray’, in this season of Advent and beyond, so that when the day comes, when the present is coming to an end, that we may be able to stand before the Son of Man, without shame or fear. To stand before God and share in our Lord’s full glory. Amen.
Questions:
- What in my life of self-indulgence and self-serving is placed in jeopardy by the promises of God?
- What are the dimensions of new justice and new righteousness that are so important to me?
- How can I watch faithfully in this season for deep transformative possibilities?
Prayer:
You are God who shakes up old things and who brings newness. It is your kingdom and your rule that is drawing near. Give us patience and discipline to watch for your coming rule, that we may receive your gift of new relations as that gift comes among us. Amen.
