The Two Comings of Christ

Advent begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas.

This four-week season is named from the Latin word for “arrival” or “coming.” It focuses on two comings of Christ.

(1) First, as the collect for the first Sunday in Advent says, there is Christ’s coming when He “came to visit us in great humility.”

(2) Then there is Christ’s second coming, “when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead.”

Many people think of Advent only as a preparation for Christmas, which is about Christ’s first coming. · Advent is like the previews in the movie theatre that play before the main feature. · It’s a fun time when most of the popcorn and Twizzlers disappear, but the real deal is the movie we came to see.

Many people are surprised to learn that Advent places an equal emphasis on the second coming.

The gospel reading for this first Sunday in Advent includes two stories.

They are:

(1) Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey.

(2) Jesus cleansing the temple.

Neither of these appears to have anything to do with Advent or Christmas.

· If anything, Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem is associated with Palm Sunday.

· The ancient Fathers, however, saw a further level of spiritual interpretation; the story became, for them, a dramatic parable of Advent

The first story, Christ’s entry to Jerusalem, aligns with Jesus’s first coming.

· This story features the coming of the Son of God as a Messianic King in great humility, riding on a donkey.

o There is no grand state-sponsored parade.

o Instead of a palace, he’s born in a shed.

· He came in quiet humility and then suffered the ultimate humiliation of death on the cross for the world's sins.

· That was the first coming of Christ.

And what do we make of the second story, the cleansing of the temple? It seems to be a random add-on.

The story recounts how moneychangers in the temple took advantage of people who had travelled a long distance to worship.

· The sellers of pigeons for sacrifice at the temple overcharged those who had travelled from a long distance.

· The moneychangers gauged their clients who needed to exchange currencies to purchase those sacrifices.

· Jesus called them “robbers” and drove them from the temple.

This story aligns with the second coming of Jesus.

· At this coming, Jesus is no longer a humble king riding on a colt but a righteous king, ready to judge the world.

· Lest we become self-righteous judgers of the judged; remember that we are included.

· It is easy to think of the other as the criminal and robber, but what about us?

Some examples of how original sin leads to the corruption of the human heart, making us all robbers of a kind. 1. We can rob others of mercy and forgiveness. Original sin creates a tendency in people to harbour resentment, anger, and unforgiveness. 2. We sometimes rob God of worship and glory. This happens when we prioritize our well-being over God’s worship. Or when we take credit for the 3. We rob ourselves of peace and fulfillment when we fail to align with our Lord’s life and teaching. 4. We can rob God by not giving generously according to biblical standards. 5. Sin robs people of trust. Dishonesty, betrayal, and selfishness are typical results of human brokenness, and these actions undermine the bonds of trust that should exist in families, friendships, and communities. 6. Sometimes, we rob creation of its full glory. · God created the world as “very good” and entrusted humanity with caring for it. · But humans often “rob” the environment of its beauty and potential through selfish exploitation or neglect.

The gospel (good news) is that Jesus provides a way of redemption and forgiveness.

The Gospel of John identifies Jesus as a robber.

· There was a tradition that each year, the Roman authorities who ruled Judea released a prisoner as a gesture of goodwill to the Jewish people during their religious festivals, particularly Passover.

· The Governor Pilate asks the people whether they want him to release Jesus or Barabbas, a notorious criminal.

o The crowd chooses to release Barabbas instead of Jesus, condemning Jesus to be crucified.

o When Barabbas was released in place of Jesus, the apostle made an observation that was anything but a casual aside. “Now Barabbas was a robber” (John 18:40).

Jesus takes the place of a robber.

· Jesus dies and the robber is released.

· This identification of Jesus with the sinner is not incidental.

· That is, in part, how our redemption works—he” bore our sins in his own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24).

· Just as Barabbas, the robber, was released in place of Jesus, we are also given the opportunity to be freed from the consequences of our sin because of Christ’s sacrifice. · His death on the cross, where He bore our sins, provides a way for us to be reconciled to God, redeemed, and restored.

Advent invites us to contemplate Christ’s first coming in humility and His second coming in glory.

While seemingly unrelated to the Christmas narrative, the stories of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and the cleansing of the temple offer profound lessons about these two comings.

· Christ's humble arrival as a King riding on a donkey reminds us of His first coming in humility and sacrifice.

· Meanwhile, His cleansing of the temple points to His second coming, when He will come as a righteous judge, confronting the sin and corruption in the world, including the sin within our hearts.

Advent calls us to recognize how we, through original sin, can become like the "robbers" Jesus condemns—taking from others, from creation, and even from God Himself.

This Advent, may we be moved by the profound grace given to us through Christ, and may that grace compel us to live in ways that honour God, restore relationships, and care for His creation.