"Christ will Come Again"
Sermon of
The Rev. Dr. David A. Killian, Rector
All Saints Parish
Brookline, Massachusetts
First Sunday of Advent
December 3, 2006
Text: Luke 21:25-31
I
In our celebration of the Holy Eucharist, right after the priest takes the bread and wine and says, "This is my body, This is my blood," the priest will say: "Let us proclaim the mystery of faith." And then all of us together will respond: "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." These three sentences, called the Eucharistic Proclamation, sum up what the Holy Eucharist is all about.
First, the Eucharist is a memorial of Christ's death, reminding us that the Word was made flesh and lived among us. The eternal word, Jesus, shared our human joys and sorrows, taught us how to live, and also how to face suffering and even death. When we proclaim, "Christ has died," we say that Christ was like us; he was mortal; he suffered; he was tortured and yet through it all he remained faithful and offered his life as a gift, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." In the Eucharist we remember Jesus in his earthly life and all that he was for us including his death.
Secondly, we proclaim, "Christ is risen." This is a proclamation not only for Easter Sunday, but for every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist. If Christ were not risen, we would have no Eucharist. If Christ were not risen, there would be no Christianity, there would not be any Christians. If Christ were not risen, Jesus would be a footnote in history forgotten as one of many failed Jewish prophets. The Resurrection makes Jesus unique. The Resurrection means that his death was not in vain. Because of the Resurrection Jesus is able to be present wherever and whenever two or three are gathered in his name. Because he is risen, Christ is free from limitations of space and time and is present mystically, sacramentally as we gather around the Eucharistic table.
Thirdly, we proclaim, "Christ will come again." Paul, writing to the Corinthians, said, "Every time, then, you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes!" (1 Corinthians 11:26) When we say, "Christ will come again," we say that Jesus will return to complete what he started in his earthly life. Jesus will return to finally do all that he hoped and wished to do when the Word become flesh and dwelt among us.
In today's Gospel from Luke, Jesus speaks of his return: "Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory." Jesus will return to complete God's original purpose of expressing God's compassionate love.
II
A while back I was talking with a Jewish Rabbi about the second coming of Christ. He pointed out that while Christians are waiting for the second coming of the Christ, Jews are waiting for the Messiah's first coming. Both Christian and Jew are looking forward to a consummation that is yet to be achieved.
Regarding this, the great Jewish teacher Martin Buber said, We Jews are waiting for the first coming of the Messiah. You Christians are waiting for the second. In the mean time can we not work together to promote the justice, peace, and dignity which the Messiah wants for all creatures? And when the Messiah does come, we can ask him, "Are you here for the second time or the first?" And what will the Messiah answer? I believe that the Messiah will ask each of us, "What are you doing to show God's love in the world?"
For both Jew and Christian, God's work is not finished. In the Jewish understanding, God is calling Jews to love one another and live ethically so as to prepare for the first coming of the Messiah. In our Christian belief, God is calling us to live the teaching of Jesus and transform the world. As we pray in the Lord's Prayer, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
There is a story about a monk who was worried about the second coming of Christ. He went to the Abbot and asked, "Father Abbot, what should we do if the Lord returns? The Abbot thought a while and then answered, "Look busy!"
We should all be busy doing God's work, because the world is not finished and the work of the Church certainly is not finished. Why did it take 18 centuries after Christ to abolish slavery and to realize the truth of Paul's words, "In Christ there is no slave or free"? Why did it take 19 centuries after Christ to recognize the truth of "In Christ there is no male or female" and begin to ordain women as priests and bishops? Why are the Church and its leaders so imperfect today? We can answer, Christ has not yet come again to put all things in order. We are not yet in heaven. We may have a glimpse of it from time to time. But you and I and our church are imperfect, and we will be until Christ will come again. That is why we, with the first century Christians, need to pray in words of the Book of Revelation, "Maranatha, Come, Lord Jesus." Come today, heal, restore, encourage, purify and help us to live your word.
III
Matthew's Gospel gives a powerful description of Christ at the final judgment separating the sheep from the goats. To the sheep on his right hand, he says, "Come, blessed of my father, for I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you comforted me, in prison and you came to visit me." Then the just will ask him: "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or see you thirsty and give you drink? When did we welcome you away from home or clothe you in your nakedness? When did we visit you when you were ill or in prison? The king will answer them: "I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me."
We do not need to think of the second coming of Christ as a far off distant event. Rather it is something that happens today when I see a brother or sister who is hungry, thirsty, a stranger, sick or in prison, homeless or in need of clothing. Christ is present in the family at the Crossroads Shelter that will receive a Christmas gift from a parishioner from our parish. Christ is in the student who needs to be tutored after school. Christ is in the person with a problem who needs a friend to listen. Christ comes to us in the guise of the people we meet each day.
Amen.