The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Ephphatha Parish of the Deaf
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY
Paul tells us that we need to be perfect and holy, in readiness for the coming of the Lord Jesus to earth at the Last Day. Zechariah, and Christ himself, as reported by Luke, give us a little more information about the Last Day, which some people call "the end times." We will have some warning, because many terrible things, such as wars and natural disturbances like earthquakes, will happen as the time for the end of the world comes close. God will provide a way of safety for his own people, and God will return with his angels at the Last Day. Jesus explains that it will be himself, God the Son, who comes, and Zechariah's description of what God will do after the Last Day is close to the vision John gives us in the Book of Revelation. But, altogether, it is a scary picture, and Jesus knows it; he warns us that people will be terribly frightened by the events that lead up to the Last Day.
We can be forgiven for wondering how following Paul's advice to become perfect and holy will protect and defend us from all this!
If we read the Bible passages carefully and think about them a bit, it does become more clear and helpful. Paul's letter to the church in Thessalonica focuses on love, and the joy he has knowing that the people of this church love one another. He wants them, and us, as well, to love one another as much as Paul himself loves the people in the churches he has established. Paul prays that the Lord himself may make our love for one another grow greater and deeper, and this, Paul says, will strengthen us and make us perfect and holy, ready to face Jesus at the Last Day when he comes to judge everyone.
That is somewhat clearer, but it still is rather foggy and hard to understand. It is helpful if we read the rest of that chapter in our Bible. Paul is telling the people of the church that he had just heard good things about them from Timothy, who had just arrived to tell Paul what was going on in the church in Thessalonica. The strength of the faith of the people has encouraged Paul, who has been having hard times himself. It gives him great joy that the people in that church remember him and are trying to live the way he taught them to live. In fact, Paul says that now he is really alive, since he knows how strong the faith of the people in that church has grown! Their faith strengthens his, just as his faith strengthens theirs. And so he prays and prays to God to help them continue to grow stronger and stronger in faith, and in love for each other. If they can do this, Paul feels sure that when the Last Day comes and everyone must be judged, they will have nothing to fear, because their love for one another and their strong faith will make them so holy that Jesus will judge them as ready to go to heaven with him.
Well, now we have the understanding we need to make sense of these three readings! But of course it is not enough to just read the Bible, or listen and watch while someone else reads it in church. A Bible is not magic. Having a Bible and reading it, or paying attention when someone reads it in church, will not get us into heaven. What we need to do is to do our best to understand the Bible readings, and then make them part of our own life. We need to think about the readings and decide how we can change our own lives to make them show the truth we have found in the Bible. So now we come to the hard part.
We all know that Advent, which starts today, is a preparation not only for the birth of the baby Jesus in Bethlehem at Christmas, but also a time of preparation for the Last Day when Jesus will come again in great glory to be our judge. Everyone who has ever lived will be judged. The dead will be raised to face Jesus and be judged, and the people who are alive at the time will be judged too. Jesus described the process in another part of the Bible: those who have lived righteously or well, in agreement with Jesus' teachings about God, will go with him to heaven, and those who have not bothered to follow God's Law as Jesus explained it, will go to hell. Jesus also said, in another place, that the judgment will depend on how each of us has treated other people: if we have visited the people in prison, given food to the hungry and water to the thirsty, helped the sick and cared for the helpless. And that is part of what Paul is talking about, when he speaks of our love for one another.
Paul, and Jesus before him, do not mean the kind of love we see on TV. It's not romantic love. It's not a warm fuzzy feeling that they are talking about. The kind of love they are talking about is simple and clear. It asks: are we doing good for other people? Are we helping people who need help? Are we sharing with others what we have? Are we teaching others about God's love, and showing them by our actions what that kind of love means? This is what Paul is talking about. This kind of lifestyle and behavior is what he says gives him joy when he hears about it happening in a church he started.
And so: we are in Advent. Christ is coming. We do not know when. We do need to prepare for that coming, because when he gets here, it'll be too late to get ready. The way we need to prepare is to look at our lives. How are we helping others? How are we showing them that God loves them and uses us to show that love to them? How do we need to change our lives NOW so that God's love for everyone can shine through us, and give glory to the newborn king who will also be our great and glorious Judge, Jesus Christ? That's our homework assignment for Advent. Think on it, pray on it, and change your life to what you think will give Jesus...and Paul...joy. And then you will not have any fear at the Last Day, because you will be joyful and happy to go and meet the Lord Jesus when he comes. Amen.
