The Prophets of Advent, December 1, 2013

The Prophets of Advent

Isaiah 40:1-5, Matthew 3:1-12

December 1, 2013

Grace Presbyterian Church

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller

Advent  “Happy New Year!” Did you go to any New Year’s Eve parties? And stay up till midnight to celebrate the new year? Personally, I went to bed early and let the new year come in all by itself.

No, I’m not confused in my dates for today really is the beginning of a new year - our church liturgical year that takes us through the cycles of Christ’s birth, baptism, transfiguration, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, and ending on Christ the King Sunday. This first Sunday of the new year is also the beginning of Advent, a period of 24 days which will end on Christmas Eve.

“What,” you might ask, “is Advent?” Contrary to popular belief, Advent was not invented by merchants as an slick way to take our money prior to Christmas. Nor was it created by greeting card companies as a means of increasing sales of Christmas cards. Rather Advent was established by the Church to help Christians spiritually prepare themselves to celebrate the birth of Christ more meaningfully. The word “Advent” comes from the Latin “Adventus” and simply means "coming." Thus for centuries, believers spent their time in prayer, repenting of their sins and striving to be spiritually prepared for that day when Christ came again.

“How long ago did Advent begin?” you ask? Not as early as you might think. Since Advent is tied directly into Christmas, the question then becomes “When was Christmas first observed by the Church?”

As you know, the scriptures do not tell of people celebrating Christmas at all. Nowhere in the New Testament is there any mention of Christmas trees, sitting down to Christmas dinner, decorating front lawns, singing carols, putting lights on the houses, or giving and receiving presents. This was because very first Christians were focused on two events: the resurrection of Jesus and when Christ would return again. However, after 300 years had gone by and Christ had not returned, the day of Christ’s birth was officially celebrated December 25, 0336. And thus the days leading up to Christmas day were set aside as a time of expectant waiting.

Importance of Advent  Advent was considered so important that in A.D. 380, a church council was held in Saragossa, Spain. The council decreed that "from December 17 until the day of Epiphany which is January 6 no one is permitted to be absent from church." Imagine that. No one could be absent from morning worship. What a great idea! Do you suppose that Grace Presbyterian could get away with that? Probably not.

 Four Comings of Christ Over the centuries, the Church has identified four traditional comings of Christ to be observed during Advent as proclaimed by the prophets - the Prophets of Advent. These four are as follows:

1. The first is when Jesus came as a baby in Bethlehem.  

2. The second is when Christ comes into our hearts.  

3. The third is when Christ comes to us at the time of our earthly death.  

4. The fourth is that moment when Christ comes to earth again, known as the parousia or his second coming.

Jesus Comes as a Baby The first coming of Christ is when Jesus was born - the day when the Word of God became flesh in Bethlehem. It was the day when the shepherds went to see the baby Jesus and a day in which the angels sang in the heavens. 

It was the day which was prophesied by Isaiah when he wrote, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” [Isaiah 7:14 NRSV]

Another prophet named Micah wrote, “But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.” [Micah 5:2 NRSV]

And the prophet Isaiah predicted the following: “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us: authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” And the fulfillment of these prophecies occurred when the baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

We call this first coming of Christ, Christmas. It is the time when we sing carols and read the great birth narratives of Matthew and Luke.  And it’s a day for family get-togethers, for opening presents, and for creating memories.

Christ comes into our hearts  The second coming is when Jesus comes into our hearts, that is, when we first accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior. This coming is expressed in the New Covenant prophecy found in Jeremiah 31:34ff. It says, “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [Jeremiah 31:31-34] Jesus fulfilled this prophecy.

Now, instead of establishing a relationship with us based on commandments written on tablets of stone, God establishes his relationship with a covenant written on our hearts.

In our morning scripture, John the Baptist said that Jesus will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire. In other words, we are baptized in our hearts. Paul wrote: “if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” [Romans 10:9]  

Thus, we acknowledge Christ as Savior with our lips, and we follow him as Lord in our hearts. Belief occurs in our hearts. Commitment occurs in our hearts. Obedience occurs in our hearts. This coming of Christ into our hearts occurred first when we professed our faith in him.

However, accepting Christ isn’t just a one time experience that took place when we were confirmed. Having Jesus come into our hearts must take place each day of our lives.

The third is when Christ comes to us at the time of our earthly death Jesus said, “In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” [John 14:2-3] As we enter eternal life, we will know Jesus just as his disciples knew him. Paul wrote, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.” [1 Thessalonians 4:13-14] This fact encourages us and gives us comfort and hope whenever a loved one dies.

Lastly, Christ shall come again  Finally, just as Jesus came to earth as a baby, he will come again to earth as Lord of all. Every time we repeat the Apostles' Creed, we affirm our belief in the second coming of Christ. We say that Christ, "ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the father almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead ." "He shall come." Sometime in the future, he will come again. That is what we believe. The "quick" of course refers to those who are alive at his coming. Now a lot of people would like to know exactly when Christ will come again so they can take time to get ready, and "get their house in order" so to speak.

However, Paul clearly said, “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” [1 Thessalonians 5:1-2]

Thus, no preparation time will be given even though many people throughout the years have predicted the exact moment when Jesus would come.

One such prediction was made by a man by the name of William Miller. In the 1840s, he was the founder of an end-times movement that was so prominent it received its own name-- Millerism. From his studies of the Bible, Miller predicted that the second coming would happen sometime between 1843 and1844. A spectacular meteor shower in 1833 gave the movement a good push forward. The build up of anticipation continued until March 21, 1844, when Miller's one year time table ran out. Some followers set another date of Oct 22, 1844. This too failed, collapsing the movement.

One follower described the days after the failed predictions, "The world made merry over the old Prophet's predicament. The taunts and jeers of the 'scoffers' were well-nigh unbearable."

The early Christians expected him to come at any moment.  One writer said that Paul’s advice “that it is best not to marry” rested in part on the conviction that “the tribulations of the end of this age are at hand, and this is no time to have to worry about a family.” (see I Corinthians 7) [William Carl Placher, “A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction,” 1983, p. 34]

However, as we know, Christ has not yet come in his great glory.  However, it doesn’t matter when he comes if we are always prepared. If we are faithful disciples in season and out, in church and out, we will be ready for Christ whenever he comes. Advent is a time in which we can become better prepared.

The In-between Time  In essence, we live in the in-between time of history - between the first coming of Christ to earth which we celebrate on Christmas day and the second coming of Christ which we will celebrate sometime in the future.

Until that future time, every moment of every day of every year should be for us a Holy Advent, a coming of Christ into our hearts.  As Phillips Brooks wrote in his familiar hymn, "O holy child of Bethlehem!  Descend to us, we pray; cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today."  Amen.
Isaiah 40:1-5 NRSV

Comfort, O comfort my people,

   says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

   and cry to her

that she has served her term,

   that her penalty is paid,

that she has received from the Lord’s hand

   double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:

‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,

   make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be lifted up,

   and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

   and the rough places a plain.

Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

   and all people shall see it together,

   for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’

Matthew 3:1-12 NRSV

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

“Prepare the way of the Lord,

   make his paths straight.” ’

Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

 ‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’