Jeremiah
33: 14 - 16; Psalm 25: 1 - 9; I Thessalonians 3: 9 -
13; Luke
21: 25 - 36
A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given
at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon,
Illinois, on Sunday, December 2, 2012.
“NOTHING
CLEANS A HOUSE LIKE COMPANY”
(Homily text:
Luke 21: 25 - 36)
“Nothing cleans a house like
company!”
Hearing this old saying not long ago made me realize how appropriate it is for the Advent season….for we have “company” coming…the Lord Jesus Christ.
We’ve not considered the two main
themes of Advent since last year…perhaps a lot has happened in the intervening
eleven months, requiring some reminders of the importance of this season of
preparation, and its main themes, which focus our attention on the coming of
the Lord.
The two main themes of Advent
are: 1. To prepare for the Lord’s coming
as a babe, born in Bethlehem (His first coming); and 2. To prepare for the
Lord’s coming at the end of time with power and great glory (His second
coming).
Since I’ve mentioned the Lord’s
second coming, allow me to make some comments about this morning’s gospel
reading, which deals with this reality…..The Lord couches His prediction about
His eventual return in a description of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. He is engaging in what biblical scholars call
“apocalyptic” discourse….the very word itself, “apocalyptic” comes to us from
the Greek, where it means “unveiling”.
So the Lord here is telling us, in part, something about His second
coming. Some detail is given, but not
all is revealed. That’s the way it is
with all things related to apocalyptic discourse and apocalyptic writing. Apocalyptic descriptions often use symbolic
language, so trying to figure out every detail of God’s future plan is difficult,
even impossible. I think God wants us to
know that the Lord’s second coming is a given fact of God’s will, but the very
nature of apocalyptic writing seems to indicate that God doesn’t want us to sit
around trying to figure out everything there is to know about His will.
Having dealt with the troubling
description that we hear in this morning’s gospel, now let’s return to the
matter of house cleaning in advance of the “company” who will grace us with His
presence, first in His coming to us at Christmastime, and second, in His
eventual coming at the end of time.
Some observations come to mind:
A
very important guest is coming! Imagine
having the President of the United States, or perhaps the Queen of England,
come to your house…..the preparation for the presence of such a notable and
important person would be intense! Every
corner of the house would receive the bright light of scrutiny…dust bunnies
that inhabit the back sides of furniture and the undersides of beds would be
swept away. Projects to repair or renew
the property that had been on the drawing board for months or even years would
get done. No corner of the house, inside
and outside, would escape notice and attention.
Now imagine applying that scenario
to the Lord’s coming, and to the matter of the condition of our hearts and
minds. Here, we are talking about the
King of kings and Lord of lords (as we spoke about a week ago on “Christ the
King Sunday). Advent calls us to a
thorough examination of the condition of our insides, that part of us that God
can see, but which others cannot see.
Perhaps the bright light of God’s perfection needs to shine on the
hidden parts of our being. Perhaps it’s
time to sweep those accumulated spiritual dust bunnies away. Perhaps it’s time to get to doing those
spiritual renewal projects that have been hibernating in our thoughts for far
too long a time.
Being
able to see the big picture: One
thing that apocalyptic literature does is to widen our vision, enabling us to
see a wider view of things. In our
gospel text for this morning, Jesus says, “Now when you see these things take
place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing
near.” Jesus continues in His discourse,
underscoring the importance of being watchful, as He says, “But take heed to
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 snare, for
it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. But watch at all times, praying that you may
have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand
before the Son of man.”
These are troubling words….they are
meant to stir up our minds and to dig into the hardened soil of our
hearts. The convey two essential
truths: 1. Trouble will attend the coming of Lord, and 2. God is in charge.
Both of these truths stand,
side-by-side. Apocalyptic discourse and
apocalyptic literature arise during very difficult and trying times. So the Lord’s words are meant to force us to
see the whole of things, the “big picture”, even as we are comforted by knowing
that God is in charge, and that God will have the last word, conquering every
challenge and every difficulty that can come along.
As we apply these truths to our own
life situation, perhaps this Advent season can be a time in which we ask the
Holy Spirit to allow us to see a wider view of things, to lift up our heads to
see beyond the immediate, day-to-day challenges and difficulties of life, to
see that God is in charge, and that God will have the last and final word,
conquering any challenge or difficulty that might come along. This truth applies to situations beyond our
own lives, and to our own lives, as well.
May we allow the Holy Spirit to
shine the light of God’s perfection into our hearts and into our minds, showing
us those places that need a good cleaning, as we prepare to receive this most
important guest, the Lord Jesus Christ.
May we allow the Holy Spirit to energize us to do the work that God
calls us to do, as we prepare to receive His only Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
AMEN.
