A Homily given by Deacon Ben Jones, assisting Deacon;

A Homily given by Deacon Ben Jones, assisting Deacon;

St. George’s Anglican Church, Raleigh, NC;

On Advent II, A.D.2008

“Prophecy: Fable or Fact.”

X In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, AMEN.

St. Luke 21:31-33.

“so likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of god is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”

If you are the type that likes to skip ahead to get the ending of a story, then the Gospel lesson for today will certainly be to your liking. Last Sunday we heard about the “Triumphant Entry” of Jesus into Jerusalem. As odd as that Gospel lesson seemed to be for the 1^st Sunday in Advent, Fr. Upham told us of “the great mystery of the Incarnation”, both fully God and fully man, living among mankind, born that “Babe of Bethlehem”. The stage is now set for our Advent journey. We look forward to the celebration of the “Nativity of our Lord”. Now for today, the 2^nd Sunday in Advent, we fast forward, who knows, somewhere between 2 to 3 thousand years. The actual time frame is not the issue at hand, but the event at the end of time is our focus, being, “THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST, as Judge at the Last Day.”

In respect for our Gospel lesson this morning, we can consider Advent to not only be a season of Joy, and Love, and Renewal, but a season of “Reflection and Repentance”. “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh”.[1] How do we know this to be a fact? A child’s rhyme tells us simply, “for the Bible tells me so”. The birth of the Baby Jesus, as well as the Second Coming of Christ is prophesied throughout the Old and New Testament. The Epistle begins, “Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”[2] If we could be given a definition of prophesy, here we have it.

KEY PHRASES

1. WRITTEN AFORETIME.

(The role of a Prophet.)

2. WRITTEN FOR OUR LEARNING.

(II Timothy 3:16.)

3. PATIENCE AND COMFORT.

(Patience = Steadfastness and Endurance.)

(Comfort = Gr. Paraklesis, Encouragement or Consolation.)

4. MIGHT HAVE HOPE.

(Not some simple desire that all will be o’k;)

(But in confidence that all things work together)

(for the glory and will of God.)

Let’s examine the prophesy in our Gospel lesson that calls us to “Reflection and Repentance” in preparation for the 2^nd coming.

Right off we are given prophesy of signs which will precede Christ’s final coming. These signs are the judgments of God for the sins of man and will be accomplished in the heavens and as well in the earth. The purpose of these signs is to warn that the time of grace and mercy will suddenly come to an end, because now Christ is with us. Even the second coming of Christ is a sign.

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory”.[3] Christ will come back to judge the living and the dead. The time for repentance will cease. Therefore we must understand these signs, and have the belief and faith that these signs point to the return of Christ as our Saviour.

As Christians we react to the prophecy of these signs by prayer and thanksgiving. “Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled”.[4] This can only mean one thing. Consider in the Gospel lesson, the Jewish nation constantly rebelled against God and Jesus’ teachings about God. We understand this to be a sign to us as well. Their unbelief warns us to turn to God and to the saving grace of His Son. We have much to look forward to through our belief in Jesus Christ. Because of man’s sin, heaven and earth will pass away. This shouldn’t make us sad or fearful in unbelief. We become confident in the Word of God as a faithful believer. We are told with certainty, “And He spake unto them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand”.[5] Jesus used this example for a sign that we all look forward to in anticipation. The season of spring is full of new growth. We now look forward to the weather breaking and summer being just around the corner. Jesus tells us through this parable that His signs will give us the same anticipation in the knowledge that the time of His second coming is near, just around the corner.

At the risk of getting into a full blown, Fundamentalist “Fire and Brimstone” sermon, let’s now turn our focus to what this Gospel lesson of prophecy means for us. “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh”.[6] We are now being called by God to understand that we as Christians are the chosen ones who are rightly certain of His victory over sin and death through His Passion, His Crucifixion, and His Resurrection. God is calling us to look up, to lift our heads. He is calling us look upon His saving grace and glory, through His Son. Jesus Christ would never encourage us with this scripture if there was any reason for doubt. He has given us the understanding of His very precious gift. He is coming to redeem us. In the Season of Advent where we commemorate the birth of the “Babe of Bethlehem”, we actually look forward to the coming of the “Lord of our Redemption”.

“Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away”.[7] We have this comfort. God’s Word shall remain forever. In the prologue to the Gospel according to St. John we hear, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.[8] We can be assured by the Eternalness of His Word that we having faith will have the opportunity to be redeemed by Jesus Christ, to be in God’s presence through, Everlasting Salvation. The Season of Advent gives us a time for reflection and for repentance, for the preparation of the return of our Redeemer.

In the next few minutes we will approach the Altar to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Each and every time we participate in the Sacrifice of the Mass we continually prepare ourselves for our union with Jesus Christ by being fed and nourished in the here and now, in the present, with Christ Himself. The benefit of this Spiritual nourishment is that we are cleansed both in body and soul forever by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and are now identified with, and bound to Christ through His Sacrament. We have this absolute assurance by being told when we receive the sacrament, “preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life”. Thanks be to God for so great a gift given for His faithful people, that through the birth of our Lord and Saviour, He continually feeds and nourishes us through His most precious Body and Blood. Amen.

X And now unto God the Father, God the Son,

and, God the Holy Ghost,

be ascribed all might, majesty, power, and dominion,

most justly due this day, both now and forever,

world without end, Amen.

[2] The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans 15:4.

[3] The Gospel According to St. Matthew 24:30.

[5] The Gospel According to St. Luke 21:29-30.