1st Sunday of Advent
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22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Luke 21:22-
-> The coming of the Son of man
25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Since the time of Christ there has been discussion, fear, and worry about the end times.
What we know? —> Nothing… We know for certain absolutly nothing about the exact happenings, times, and dates of the end times.
what we actually know is that there is an end.
We are going somewhere, there is a direction, there is a purpose. We are not some cosmic hamsters spinning in our own cosmic hamster ball.
The Christian conception of history is that it has a goal and, at that goal, Jesus Christ will be Lord of all. That is all we know, and all we need to know.
—> The Fig Tree
29 And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
When the time comes there will be understandable signs. Signs that are plain to Christians.
By this point in his discourse his audience is worried. He has talked about the destruction of the temple. He has talked about the cosmos being ripped apart. They are worried and with good reason.
A little before this in Ch. 21 Jesus prophesizes about the destruction of the Temple and the fall of Jerusalem. Jerusalem did fall in 70AD. An estimated 1.1 million people died and 97,000 were taken away as slaves.
There is good, founded reason to have some hesitation and intrepedation, but even though there is so much unknown the thing that is certain is found in the concluding line.
“Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
—> Be ready and on alert. Understand where your strength comes from.
34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
37 And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. 38 And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.
Jesus concludes this dialogue with words of advice.
watch yourself —> Don’t let the things of this life lead you into a drunken state, both literally and figuratively.
Jer
14 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
Are we on our guard in this season of Advent. Are we protecting ourselves from falling asleep at the wheel of our life?
Again, this isn’t a theoretical this is reality for everyone. Life will come at us, sometimes faster than others…I went to sleep a couple of weeks ago in September and when I woke up in was December 2nd.
But Jesus never leaves us empty handed and scratching our heads for answers for these questions that matter.
“But stay awake and pray for strength and wisdom.”
37-38
He removed himself and got rest because he knew the crowds would come and he needed to be ready.
Have you done that?
Do you have a plan in place to do that?
The saying goes, “ If you fail to plan, then you have planed to fail.”
Don’t let this season that is supposed to be centered on Jesus become a season where you don’t have time for Jesus.
Are we ready today for Advent? Are we ready today to welcome in Jesus into our lives, our homes, our families, our jobs, our church?
Or have