Observation: In Jerusalem during his final week before being crucified, Jesus teaches about signs of his return. Many things that are considered constant and eternal--the sun, the moon, the stars, heaven and earth--will no longer function as they once did. Jesus assures his disciples, however, that his words will remain. When the seemingly unshakable seems shaken, this is a sign--just like figs growing ripe on a fig tree--that his coming is near.
Application: The first few generations of Christians lived in expectation of Jesus' return. Many assumed it would happen during their lifetime. Even when the world they knew seemed to be crumbling, they took solace in the idea that Jesus had already said it would, and that he was near to them in this.
After the first couple of centuries, and certainly after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, believers had a dilemma, because the Church had become intertwined with the very system of power that Jesus said would crumble as a sign of his coming. The more time passed, and the more connected to earthly power the Christian message became, the less sense of urgent expectation and excitement there was of a coming judgment. After all, if your life is pretty cushy now, why focus on a sudden reversal?
There's a certain part of me that gets uncomfortable with these readings about a coming judgment, for the exact reasons I just listed. In the grand scheme, I'm pretty comfortable with my life. I have more than enough resources to get by, keep a roof over my children's head, and even have some fun on top of that. I enjoy a great number of freedoms and privileges that not everyone has. Why focus on bringing those comforts to an end?
That's what I'm struggling with today: that Jesus' coming means losing a place of privilege. It means our human institutions and status quo will be shaken, and ultimately pass away. It means many of the things we trusted as eternal will be exposed as temporary, and to the extent that we trusted in or benefitted from those things, we'll be exposed too. Many, like me, who are used to being fairly comfortable, will be vulnerable for the first time.
But the good news is twofold: first, we know it's coming. It will not come when and where and how we expect, but we know it will happen. And second, we can take comfort in the idea that the kingdom Jesus offers us--even to those who are the most comfortable in our current society--is so much better than what we have. When the norms and the power structures we most value seem to be going away, that's a sign that Jesus is near. Maybe not in the literal sense of an actual, physical return of Christ (although I believe that will happen someday) but much more in the sense that Jesus is near when we stop trusting in our own way of doing things and are forced to lean on him.
Prayer: God, move what is static in me. Stir what is sleeping comfortably. Humble me when I grow proud. If I have placed my trust in any other power than you, may that power be shaken. Amen.
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