HOPE: THE THREE COMINGS OF CHRIST

Today is the First Sunday of Advent, as we see in our bulletins.  But what does that mean?  It means that today is the start of a new Christian year.  Another church year has come and gone and a new one awaits; a year filled with sorrow and joy, of defeats and victories, of lows and highs…  What will this coming year bring?  No one but God knows, and that is what Advent is all about, the waiting, the anticipation, the wondering of what is to come.

            Advent, just like this holiday season is a time of waiting.  Driving through our towns and neighborhoods we see the Christmas lights, the Christmas trees, the people going in and out of stores with bags full of goodies that will be wrapped in festive paper and placed under the tree increasing the excitement of the season as you wonder what treasures reside in each brightly-colored box.

            It’s a happy time, but also a frustrating time!  26 days until we can unwrap the gifts!  26 days until our curiosity is satisfied!  Children, and some adults, ask themselves, Can I make it that long?  Can I keep myself from sneaking under the tree to find that gift with my name on it, hoping that what I have on my list is what’s inside and giving it a little shake as a clue as to what it may be?  THE ANTICIPATION IS MORE THAT I CAN BEAR!  <UNWRAPING STORY?>

            It’s hard to wait, but wait we must, for that is what Advent is, a time of waiting, a time of anticipation, a time of hope.

            As we begin this week with our theme of HOPE, our focus turns to the 3 comings of Christ.   We begin with “the reason for the season.”

From the dawn of time, God has had a desire to dwell with the greatest of His creation, humankind.  It was into Adam and Eve that God breathed the breath of life and proclaimed that they were “very good.”  Yet, humanity traded the nakedness of splendor for garments of disobedience, sin.   When God discovers what had happened, He decrees in Genesis 3: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers: he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”  With this proclamation, God offers a foreshadowing of the good news to come.  When everything seems shattered beyond repair, God does not abandon us.  Help is on the way.  And the 39 books of the Old Testament point their readers and hearers towards the help that is to come. 

            Isaiah tells us in Chapter 11, A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of might,

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,

or decide by what he hears with his ears;

4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,

with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;

with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

5 Righteousness will be his belt

and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

            Jeremiah proclaims in Chapter 23, 5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,

a King who will reign wisely

and do what is just and right in the land.

6 In his days Judah will be saved

and Israel will live in safety.

This is the name by which he will be called:

The LordOur Righteous Savior.

            Zechariah promises in Chapter 2, 10 “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord. 11 “Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.

Banished from the Garden of Eden, slaves to the Egyptians, floods, famines, desert wanderings, wars; would there ever be rest?  Yet, through it all, the words of the Prophets percolated in the back of the Hebrew’s minds.  In what or whom do we put our hopes and dreams?           .

            Do we look for a baby born in a manger in a little town of Bethlehem?  Isn’t it incredible that the One whose coming the prophets foretold, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the One hailed in the Temple court by Simeon as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of the people Israel,” would come to earth as an innocent baby.  The wait was long, and at times excruciating, but wait they did and hope they had, and this is Advent, the waiting and preparing for celebrating the birth, the first coming of Christ.

            But thankfully, that is not the end of the story.  Just as December 26 follows Christmas Day, the year continues.  The 26this followed by the 27th, the 28th, then January, February, March, etc.  And again, we ask the question, what will the year bring?  And again, we answer, Only God knows!  And we put our hope in that.  If God already has what is going to happen in my life and yours; in my family and yours; in our church, our cities, our country, our world…why should I worry?  That is great news!!

            But I have even greater news.  Not only do we not have to worry about the coming year, we don’t have to worry about any of the following years either because God has these under His control as well.  That is why the Psalmist can say in Psalm 39:7, “But now, Lord, what do I look for?  My hope is in You.”

            Where is your hope for the future?  Is it in titles and riches?  Is it in not only keeping up with the Jones’ but beating them?  Is it in all of the things the world holds dear, which I am told “moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in to steal,” from Matthew 6.  Or, do we set our hope in the world of the Apostle John when he tells us in Revelation 21 <1-7>?

            When I hear these words I want to shout, “Come Lord Jesus!”

            But when?  Soon!  How soon?  Soon!  And so we wait for that great and glorious day when we, like John, can say, < Rev 22:12-13>.   WOW!! I can’t wait; but we must.  That is Advent.

            Are there tough times ahead?  Yes.  Are there good times ahead?  Yes.  Will trials and tribulations come our way?  Yes.  Will triumphs and victories come our way?  Yes.  When?  Who knows?  God knows and in Him we can put our hope and trust.  Christ came as a baby, born in a manger.  He is coming again to establish His kingdom on earth, and so we wait, holding on to hope, not hope THAT it will happen, but the hope that proclaims, “God said it, I believe it, and that’s all there is to it!”

            Now I could stop right here and we could sing our closing hymn and head home to football or naps (or naps while watching football) as we have looked at both the first and second comings of Christ.  But how about that promised 3rdcoming of Christ that we have been waiting for?  The good news is that it is already here!!

            In the 14th chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus tells His disciples that while it is true He is going to be leaving them, they would not be alone.  John 14:26-27 < >

            Jesus was born in a stable and He died on a cross and ascended into heaven, but He is not gone!  We, like the disciples, have been sent the Holy Spirit to teach us, guide us, remind us of what Jesus said and was.  God will send His Holy Spirit to bring His peace.

            The world is a busy place, especially in these whirlwind days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Now the world thinks it knows how to bring peace to the whirlwind.  Yoga instructors insist that meditation and body contortions are the answer.  There always seems to be a magazine article boasting about all the ways to beat busyness.  Travel agents make the claim that peace can be found in Hawaii – for only $3000.

            But God tells us that REAL peace is not found in a program or a place, but in a Person.  Jesus Christ. “My peace I give you.”

            The peace of the world is short-lived and shallow.  The peace of Christ is immeasurable and eternal.

            In the past, the nation of Israel waited for the coming of the Messiah.  We wait for Jesus’ future return, bringing a new heaven and earth.  But we don’t have to wait for Jesus in the present, for He has come via the Holy Spirit to all who proclaim His as Lord and receive Him into their lives.

            Past, Present, Future.  This is the hope of Advent.