Message Then and Now

PROPERS:          ADVENT 1, YEAR A    

TEXT:                 PSALM 122; MATTHEW 24:36-44

PREACHED AT HOLY TRINITY, PENSACOLA, ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2019.

ONE SENTENCE:        The key message of Advent, spanning continents,                                                 cultures, and millennia, is to be prepared.      

                                    

            There are few moments in my life which seem truly synchronous.  

            One was the first time I rode on a tour bus and entered the city of Jerusalem.  You have heard me describe it before, but the psalm today brings it back to me with renewed freshness.

            Our group had traveled uphill some 35 miles.  On the edge of the approaching urban area, we entered a tunnel, which went deep under the rising hilltop. You have heard me tell you of the countryside we passed through, heading from the Dead Sea rift to the hill country of Judea.

            As we entered the city from the east, our Israeli guide began to read the words… I was glad when they said to me… I recognized them immediately as the words of Psalm 122.

            He went on:

"Let us go to the house of the Lord."

2 Now our feet are standing *
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem is built as a city *
that is at unity with itself;

4 To which the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord, *
the assembly of Israel,
to praise the Name of the Lord.

5 For there are the thrones of judgment, *
the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: *
"May they prosper who love you.

7 Peace be within your walls *
and quietness within your towers.

8 For my brethren and companions' sake, *
I pray for your prosperity.

9 Because of the house of the Lord our God, *
I will seek to do you good."

            Somewhere, during the reading of the psalm, we emerged from the tunnel into the bright light of day, with a vision of the ancient, walled Holy City off to our left.

            The words were remarkable, and they seemed so appropriate.  Every one of us on the bus had waited years – even entire lives – to be in the Holy City.

            The psalmist’s words harken back to an era many thousands of years ago; Perhaps to the days of the united monarchy, the 88 years during which David and Solomon ruled over the Israel and Judea.

            The current truth is much starker. Jerusalem is a city at unity with itself?  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem? Not hardly.  It is a deeply divided city.  It is the most fought-over real estate in the world – and has been for 3,000 years.

            The western part of the city is Jewish.  Even within that area, there is separation between the Hasidic Jews and the more secular bulk of the Jewish population.

            The eastern portion of the city is Arab – and predominantly Muslim (The terms Arab and Muslim are not mutually inclusive).  The Arab section is like many African American areas of American cities – economically deprived and neglected by the ruling powers.

            Although there are a few churches, there is no Christian area of the city.

            There is a cacophony of faiths here.  You see the Hasidic Jews walking intently, dressed in their solid-black suits and dark, snap-brim fedoras, with peyos, long-tendrils of curly hair hanging down in front of their ears.  There is the piercing, regular sound of the Islamic call to prayer, emanating from the minarets which dot the city.

            And within the small Christian enclaves, you encounter the various traditions – Roman, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Cyprian, Syrian, Ethiopian, Coptic and Anglican. In those precincts, you encounter wafts of incense and tones of ancient chants.

            It is a true melting pot.

            But, likely, it is a modernized version of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.  It was then that the Romans ruled.  The despotic and crazed Herod reigned as a proxy with an iron fist.  Peoples of many countries journeyed there. Various religions held sway.  A melting pot then… a melting pot now.

            Even today, Jerusalem is a world – culturally and geographically – away from us.  That is today. Imagine the separation we would feel if we entered that world 2,000 years ago.

            Yet, strangely, the same message of that day is appropriate today.

            Hear words from the gospel today again:

Jesus said to the disciples, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

            Even though we have just entered Advent today, the lesson is from Jesus approaching the cross.  He is mindful that he will not be with his followers – in a physical sense – very long.  But he is imparting to them words of wisdom – an approach to life.

            Be prepared.  That is his essential point.  Live your life anticipating that God may enter it at some unknown, unexpected time.  That is what happened in that cultural melting pot 2,000 years ago – amidst the drama, the intrigue, the brokenness, the grief, the conflict, and all the other aspects of brutality, oppression, life and death

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            God’s movement may be slow or quick; dramatic or subtle.  But one thing is for certain, it will come, if you are open to it.  You will see it when you look in the rearview mirror.

            Advent is a season for preparation, and for anticipation.  Do not be distracted by all the glittering objects and conflicting experiences of today. Nothing we know is more complex and contradictory than what was present in Jerusalem two millennia ago. Nothing is new under the sun.

            But, the message remains the same:  Be prepared.  God will come, at a time when you least expect it, but, perhaps, most need it.  And, ultimately, you will know it.