Advent Ethics
Commentary
Imagine a church women’s group who meets monthly in the church basement around coffee and snacks. The women in this group are elderly. The youngest women are recently retired school teachers in their early 60s of age. It is a cold December evening, when it gets dark outside around 5:30 p.m. After their Bible study, the women have a business meeting regarding their financial resources in this Christmas season.
Each of these women have already been bombarded with postal mail stuffed into their mailboxes. Those with dated cell phones still get unknown callers asking them to give to a particular organization for the annual Christmas giving program. At home, they are immersed in television commercials also soliciting money for various worthy causes from animal shelters to hospitals in other parts of the country. There are as many charities and causes to who seek donations as their podcasts, YouTube videos and social media online rooms for a particle cause. How does one sort them all out?
In this year of Matthew’s Gospel, the community of faith also has competing gods who seek support from the masses. For Matthew, the Christiaan church is a Jewish reform movement. To be a good Jew is to be a good Christian. In Matthew, the Christian church is not simply another Greek philosophy or gods of representing a force of nature such as the sun, sexuality, water or war. The Messiah in Matthew’s Gospel is rooted in the monotheistic God of Israel. For Matthew, one need not become overwhelmed in numerous podcasts, YouTube videos, any of the five hundred channels on satellite television. It is simply a matter of following the trajectory form the Hebrew Bible from books such as the Psalms, prophets such as Micah or Isaiah.
The ladies church group received a phone call from the local school principal regarding needs of various students. One group of students have parents who are irresponsible with family finances, so the student faces embarrassment at the lunch line when their meal card has expired. Another group of students does not want to talk about Christmas or Christmas clothing. The ladies church group holds to one of their core baptismal values of not penalizing the children for their parents’ poor choices. So, they agree to send funds to the school and have the principal provide money for students whose lunch cards are short of funds. Also, anonymously the ladies group joins other community groups to sponsor a child’s need for winter clothing.
These older women have a prayer. They may sing a traditional hymn and then they slowly walk back to their cars and go home in the cold, dark, outdoors with occasional snow flurries falling onto the windshield of their cars. They are people of faith who need not worry about a sudden disaster who takes somebody’s life while leaving another as in the Matthew 24 text. They need not worry about government anger, as they are assisting their local public school system (Romans 13 text). Finally, they are indeed in an impartial place for refuge and safety for strangers who probably will never darken the doors of their church on Sunday (Isaiah 2). In this season of Advent, these elderly church ladies are living out their Christian faith in “Advent Ethics.” This small church neither seeks or expects to receive public recognition or its name in flashing lights in front of a building.
Isaiah 2:1-4
God will restore any community who is either about to face disaster or already has experienced major setbacks to the point they are marginalized. This is the essential message of this text. Portions of Micah 4:1-4 are in this text. It is contested as to which prophet is the original author and which one inserted the text into the reading? Both prophets argue against the populist polytheism gods of the times in favor of the one God of Israel. Instruction from this God of Israel will lead to better times. Authorship debates abound (Isaiah 1-39, Deutero Isaiah 40-55, Trito Isaiah 56-66). However, this particular section is uncontested in terms of the original writing of Isaiah the prophet.
This community (as many faithful people today) believes that they are marginalized out of the mainstream of making history. Numerous voices of polytheistic gods are claiming legitimacy similar to a person being bombarded by podcasts and assorted form of social media today. Essentially this text is a polytheism polemic in favor of Israel’s monotheistic God who is capable of ushering in a new era after any given time of: war, pestilence, natural disasters or global super power dominance.
Universal peace is the ultimate sought vision or goal for the nation (swords into plowshares, vs. 4). Gentiles will one day make a pilgrimage to Zion. Isaiah, the son of Amoz has few biographical details about his person. Cross references of his ministry include: 2 Kings 19-20; 2 Chronicles 29-32. Extra biblical legend reports the prophet was sawn in half under the reign of Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33, Hebrews 11:37). His ministry occurred during the second half of the eighth century BCE.
Today’s text is found amidst the major prophet’s bitter attacks on the arrogance and hypocrisy of Jerusalem’s leaders. Note: anger is not against the common working person of the time. Isaiah glimpses or visions into the heavenly court of God, as he argues against King Ahaz during the Syro-Ephraim crisis. Judah’s leaders do not believe they will be subject to the same conquest and exile as their fellow Hebrew neighbors to the north.
As far as a prophecy, this text does not end on a note of gloom and despair. Rather, God will one day bring in a time of universal peace. This will be a time when nations will hear instruction from the word [Torah] of Israel’s God. Prophets bracket their messages with hope in scripture.
A sermon path might include the benefits of worshipping one God versus many other gods of the times which provide people temporary reprieve from stress and uncertainty. If a person sees some disaster coming into their lives in the form of: health, financial, community or natural weather storms, Isaiah assures people of faith that the God of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is reliable. God is capable of ushering in better, peaceful times despite the arrogance and mistruths of leaders who abuse their power in any community.
Another path of preaching might in Advent might be, one can see that the world is less than perfect, if not a mess. Rather than worrying about possible calamities in the year to come, Isaiah still believes the temple of Lord and the scriptures provide a pathway to better times. Church is still good! God remains sovereign in Isaiah (Chapters 13-27). Despite poor leadership, God is on the side of faithful believers who take up faith and courage in rough times (Chapters 28-39). God comforts God’s people in later times (Chapters 40-56). God restores God’s people (Chapters 56-66), though not in ways they expect. God protects comforts and restores are themes to pursue on this Sunday in Advent.
A final approach might be to read the entire book through the interpretive lens of, Isaiah 43:18-19, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” The preacher can identify which things of old or the past still haunt people of faith, such as a pandemic, time of community violence or loss of economic source of employment and business base. Advent is a time to affirm, “Behold I am doing a new thing.”
A practical example might be a community which had a tornado demolish many homes is now rebuilding houses with firmer foundations and higher qualities of building materials. Possibly, a local school is coming together in a new way as community after a tragic incident. Advent is a season of hope. Advent ethics means not to give in to the forces of darkness but be part of the solution as the church ladies group in the opening illustration [Sources: Brueggemann, Walter, Westminster Bible Companion, Isaiah 1-39, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 199, Kaiser, Otto, The Old Testament Library: Isaiah 1-12, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1981. Metzger, Bruce M., and Michael D. Coogan, Editors, “Isaiah, Book of,” The Oxford Companion to the Bible, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1993)].
Romans 13:11-14
This uncontested epistle shares Paul’s eschatological parenesis (moral exhortation). It is an urgent appeal to “lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (13:12). In the season of Advent one obvious application is, “[let us live] not reveling in drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to glorify desires” (13:14). In some work and social places, the season before Christmas might be a mistaken for a time to let one’s ethical guard down, take liberties one might otherwise take in other times of the year and cross certain personal boundaries all in the name of the “season of the year.” Another example might be a law enforcement officer deciding whether or not to arrest a person who is driving a vehicle while intoxicated. The sermon path for this view is “Don’t let down your guard.”
Other paths include how the preacher wishes to frame this text through the broader context of the Book of Romans. One path might be to bracket this text with Romans 13:1, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” How does one live under the rule of Caesar or the government while not conforming to methods of government control? Persuasion and consensus are the preferred methods of community building over coercion, topdown legal systems to maintain law, order, and taxes. How does one witness to the life under the cross in a government which may or may not be in harmony with the values of the faith community? There are any number of divisive issues which could be an arena for such questions. The bottom line is Christians are encouraged not to stage violent rebellions, as God instituted the government. Is there a time to take up violent means to confront an oppressive regime? (Witherington, 323-324).
Another frame of reference might be to bracket this text with the beginning of Paul’s parenesis of general Christian ethics Romans 12:1-2, “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” This view would suggest that despite any period of Kairos time of either imminent or distant ending or distant closing of a time era, Christians are to live counter cultural lives. Christians are not to be conformed, but rather transformed in their renewal of the crucified and risen Jesus. As this applies to Advent, what is the counter cultural ethic to live in times when one simply tries to be as good as the civil law would not penalize them?
At one time, when people placed their hand on the Bible in court to swear to tell the truth, the fear was they would be struck down by sudden death or lightening if they lied in court while given their testimony. Today, is the more immediate fear that they might be imprisoned by the civil authorities (for perjury) rather than immediate retribution from a God who is capable of wrath? Should Christians do the right thing in Advent, even if they are not struck down by lightening?
Paul suggests vigilance and obedience as if the day of the Lord is present and one walks the life of living in the Spirit. The Greek word peripatéō (to walk and conduct oneself guided by the precepts of the Hebrew Scriptures) is used 15 additional times in Paul’s epistles. This suggests it to one of Paul’s core values. The text might connect this text to the Isaiah 2:1-4 text to walk in the paths of God’s instruction (Hultgren, 489-492).
A preaching path might be in Advent regarding how counter cultural are Christians to be in this season. In liturgical church traditions, there have been conflicts over whether to sing Christmas hymns during Sunday worship or only Advent hymns. Is battle worth it? Over the years in my ministry, I debate whether this is a cross I want to die on? I observe memorable times of children’s church experience was the singing of Christmas hymns, even in November! [Hultgren, Arland J., Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2011), Witherington, Ben III, A Socio Rhetorical Commentary: Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2004)].
Alternative Application
Rather than not being conformed to this world, has the modern church slipped in becoming more like the world in the way church organization structures operate, church workers compensated and deferral to the legal community rather than the Holy Spirit? Where has the church transformed the larger society and where is the church being transformed by the society it lives in?
Matthew 24:36-44
“Eschatology is never presented for the sake of mere information but always and consistently as a motivation for ethical living…the fact of the parousia, not the time of parousia is what matters. The evangelist [Matthew] stresses the need to be prepared for that coming reality.” (Hagner, 721). Dated around 85 CE, Matthew’s sources are the Gospel of Mark and a collections of sayings scholars call the “Q” source. Antioch and Syria are the two possible locations of authorship. Abiding presence of God with humanity is one emphasis of this entire gospel (Matthew 1:23, “...and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, ‘God with us.” The final verse is Matthew 28:20, “And remember I am with you always to the end of the age”). This is significant because any apocalyptic writings should be read in the framework of God’s ongoing presence through “to end of the age.” Moral and ethical teachings of Jesus are in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. God’s laws remain valid. Christians are to exhibit even greater righteousness than Jews or Gentiles of that day. Might this be a partial example of the fulfillment of the vision in Isaiah 2:1-4? (Powell, 614-615).
The text underscores the normalcy of life such as in the days of Noah. People were eating, making merry and marrying before the day of reckoning of the flood. The Advent theme here is to remain vigilant. While only God knows the time of the arrival of the parousia or Second Coming, one need not worry if they are living out the ethics of faith one practices in Advent. Matthew believes there will be a day of judgement for all people, but it is useless to speculate the exact date. Readiness for Matthew is Torah (Hebrew Bible) observance (c.f.: Isaiah 2:1-4) and following Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and finally seeking forgiveness and forgiving other people. Such Advent ethics are solid preparation for any day of judgment or sudden end of a chapter of history in the life of the believer (Culpepper, 482). A person could be present one day and gone the next. It does not reflect whether they are greater or lesser of a sinner. When it is a person’s time to go—God only knows! Therefore, Advent waiting should be a spiritual posture that is practiced year around! One never knows when an accident, or sudden natural disaster or violent act will occur which threatens a person’s life. Advent faith is to always be watchful and ready (24:42-44).
The illustration used is of a householder who should be alert for any intruders, as disciples are to be ready for sudden times of ending of life. Scripture becomes a living word for all times because every generation has seen such signs listed in Matthew 24:29, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Difficult times of trial and unpredictable configurations in the galaxy have occurred during every generation. The constant in the Christian life are the words from scripture that suggest we live a life of Advent readiness (Hagner, 720-721). [Sources: Culpepper, R. Alan, The New Testament Library: Matthew, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 20210, Hagner, Donald A., Word Biblical Commentary: Matthew 14-28, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995 Powell, Mark Alan, editor Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, New York, NY: Harper One, 2011)].
Application
In the Matthew lesson, readiness and watchfulness are recurring themes. Speculation of whether our current times of trials and unpredictable astronomy events are useless, as they have occurred in the past. Hence the same words of Matthew 24 that were read in European Middle Ages during assorted wars, disease and astrological discoveries are just as relevant today.
While in college in the 1970s, there was an assortment of apocalyptic books regarding the unique times of distress we were living in. I was told not to buy life insurance. I am glad I did as I am pretty sure my wife and I will have need of it. During the Y2K scare, my wife and I took time off to a Mennonite resort community, believing a huge mushroom cloud will come over Toledo, Ohio! It did not occur, but the Mennonite chicken and noodles were good. I still watch the 2012 movie at night when I cannot sleep. The “Field of Dreams” here in Iowa remains. Corn still grows and deer are plentiful. However, I watch for deer when driving at night. Our communities collect flood buckets in readiness in the event of a river flood. In this sense, Advent faith and ethics are year around. The ladies in the church group above are going to figure that money will be needed for school lunches next year. The winter snows will come and children will need warm coats and gloves. Finally, somebody will sing “Jingle Bells” off key on YouTube! And somebody will still try to do some not so well-thought-out physical stunt or trick to get a spot on social media. In some strange way, Christ says, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Alternative Application
The constants that have occurred in all ages is the body and mind ages, but the Spirit of Christ abides with me forever as Matthew preaches. What constants in our world would we miss if there was a Second Coming?
A three-point sermon might be: Be Ready, Be Watchful, Be Comforted with God’s presence.
Each of these women have already been bombarded with postal mail stuffed into their mailboxes. Those with dated cell phones still get unknown callers asking them to give to a particular organization for the annual Christmas giving program. At home, they are immersed in television commercials also soliciting money for various worthy causes from animal shelters to hospitals in other parts of the country. There are as many charities and causes to who seek donations as their podcasts, YouTube videos and social media online rooms for a particle cause. How does one sort them all out?
In this year of Matthew’s Gospel, the community of faith also has competing gods who seek support from the masses. For Matthew, the Christiaan church is a Jewish reform movement. To be a good Jew is to be a good Christian. In Matthew, the Christian church is not simply another Greek philosophy or gods of representing a force of nature such as the sun, sexuality, water or war. The Messiah in Matthew’s Gospel is rooted in the monotheistic God of Israel. For Matthew, one need not become overwhelmed in numerous podcasts, YouTube videos, any of the five hundred channels on satellite television. It is simply a matter of following the trajectory form the Hebrew Bible from books such as the Psalms, prophets such as Micah or Isaiah.
The ladies church group received a phone call from the local school principal regarding needs of various students. One group of students have parents who are irresponsible with family finances, so the student faces embarrassment at the lunch line when their meal card has expired. Another group of students does not want to talk about Christmas or Christmas clothing. The ladies church group holds to one of their core baptismal values of not penalizing the children for their parents’ poor choices. So, they agree to send funds to the school and have the principal provide money for students whose lunch cards are short of funds. Also, anonymously the ladies group joins other community groups to sponsor a child’s need for winter clothing.
These older women have a prayer. They may sing a traditional hymn and then they slowly walk back to their cars and go home in the cold, dark, outdoors with occasional snow flurries falling onto the windshield of their cars. They are people of faith who need not worry about a sudden disaster who takes somebody’s life while leaving another as in the Matthew 24 text. They need not worry about government anger, as they are assisting their local public school system (Romans 13 text). Finally, they are indeed in an impartial place for refuge and safety for strangers who probably will never darken the doors of their church on Sunday (Isaiah 2). In this season of Advent, these elderly church ladies are living out their Christian faith in “Advent Ethics.” This small church neither seeks or expects to receive public recognition or its name in flashing lights in front of a building.
Isaiah 2:1-4
God will restore any community who is either about to face disaster or already has experienced major setbacks to the point they are marginalized. This is the essential message of this text. Portions of Micah 4:1-4 are in this text. It is contested as to which prophet is the original author and which one inserted the text into the reading? Both prophets argue against the populist polytheism gods of the times in favor of the one God of Israel. Instruction from this God of Israel will lead to better times. Authorship debates abound (Isaiah 1-39, Deutero Isaiah 40-55, Trito Isaiah 56-66). However, this particular section is uncontested in terms of the original writing of Isaiah the prophet.
This community (as many faithful people today) believes that they are marginalized out of the mainstream of making history. Numerous voices of polytheistic gods are claiming legitimacy similar to a person being bombarded by podcasts and assorted form of social media today. Essentially this text is a polytheism polemic in favor of Israel’s monotheistic God who is capable of ushering in a new era after any given time of: war, pestilence, natural disasters or global super power dominance.
Universal peace is the ultimate sought vision or goal for the nation (swords into plowshares, vs. 4). Gentiles will one day make a pilgrimage to Zion. Isaiah, the son of Amoz has few biographical details about his person. Cross references of his ministry include: 2 Kings 19-20; 2 Chronicles 29-32. Extra biblical legend reports the prophet was sawn in half under the reign of Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33, Hebrews 11:37). His ministry occurred during the second half of the eighth century BCE.
Today’s text is found amidst the major prophet’s bitter attacks on the arrogance and hypocrisy of Jerusalem’s leaders. Note: anger is not against the common working person of the time. Isaiah glimpses or visions into the heavenly court of God, as he argues against King Ahaz during the Syro-Ephraim crisis. Judah’s leaders do not believe they will be subject to the same conquest and exile as their fellow Hebrew neighbors to the north.
As far as a prophecy, this text does not end on a note of gloom and despair. Rather, God will one day bring in a time of universal peace. This will be a time when nations will hear instruction from the word [Torah] of Israel’s God. Prophets bracket their messages with hope in scripture.
A sermon path might include the benefits of worshipping one God versus many other gods of the times which provide people temporary reprieve from stress and uncertainty. If a person sees some disaster coming into their lives in the form of: health, financial, community or natural weather storms, Isaiah assures people of faith that the God of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is reliable. God is capable of ushering in better, peaceful times despite the arrogance and mistruths of leaders who abuse their power in any community.
Another path of preaching might in Advent might be, one can see that the world is less than perfect, if not a mess. Rather than worrying about possible calamities in the year to come, Isaiah still believes the temple of Lord and the scriptures provide a pathway to better times. Church is still good! God remains sovereign in Isaiah (Chapters 13-27). Despite poor leadership, God is on the side of faithful believers who take up faith and courage in rough times (Chapters 28-39). God comforts God’s people in later times (Chapters 40-56). God restores God’s people (Chapters 56-66), though not in ways they expect. God protects comforts and restores are themes to pursue on this Sunday in Advent.
A final approach might be to read the entire book through the interpretive lens of, Isaiah 43:18-19, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” The preacher can identify which things of old or the past still haunt people of faith, such as a pandemic, time of community violence or loss of economic source of employment and business base. Advent is a time to affirm, “Behold I am doing a new thing.”
A practical example might be a community which had a tornado demolish many homes is now rebuilding houses with firmer foundations and higher qualities of building materials. Possibly, a local school is coming together in a new way as community after a tragic incident. Advent is a season of hope. Advent ethics means not to give in to the forces of darkness but be part of the solution as the church ladies group in the opening illustration [Sources: Brueggemann, Walter, Westminster Bible Companion, Isaiah 1-39, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 199, Kaiser, Otto, The Old Testament Library: Isaiah 1-12, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1981. Metzger, Bruce M., and Michael D. Coogan, Editors, “Isaiah, Book of,” The Oxford Companion to the Bible, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1993)].
Romans 13:11-14
This uncontested epistle shares Paul’s eschatological parenesis (moral exhortation). It is an urgent appeal to “lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (13:12). In the season of Advent one obvious application is, “[let us live] not reveling in drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to glorify desires” (13:14). In some work and social places, the season before Christmas might be a mistaken for a time to let one’s ethical guard down, take liberties one might otherwise take in other times of the year and cross certain personal boundaries all in the name of the “season of the year.” Another example might be a law enforcement officer deciding whether or not to arrest a person who is driving a vehicle while intoxicated. The sermon path for this view is “Don’t let down your guard.”
Other paths include how the preacher wishes to frame this text through the broader context of the Book of Romans. One path might be to bracket this text with Romans 13:1, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” How does one live under the rule of Caesar or the government while not conforming to methods of government control? Persuasion and consensus are the preferred methods of community building over coercion, topdown legal systems to maintain law, order, and taxes. How does one witness to the life under the cross in a government which may or may not be in harmony with the values of the faith community? There are any number of divisive issues which could be an arena for such questions. The bottom line is Christians are encouraged not to stage violent rebellions, as God instituted the government. Is there a time to take up violent means to confront an oppressive regime? (Witherington, 323-324).
Another frame of reference might be to bracket this text with the beginning of Paul’s parenesis of general Christian ethics Romans 12:1-2, “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” This view would suggest that despite any period of Kairos time of either imminent or distant ending or distant closing of a time era, Christians are to live counter cultural lives. Christians are not to be conformed, but rather transformed in their renewal of the crucified and risen Jesus. As this applies to Advent, what is the counter cultural ethic to live in times when one simply tries to be as good as the civil law would not penalize them?
At one time, when people placed their hand on the Bible in court to swear to tell the truth, the fear was they would be struck down by sudden death or lightening if they lied in court while given their testimony. Today, is the more immediate fear that they might be imprisoned by the civil authorities (for perjury) rather than immediate retribution from a God who is capable of wrath? Should Christians do the right thing in Advent, even if they are not struck down by lightening?
Paul suggests vigilance and obedience as if the day of the Lord is present and one walks the life of living in the Spirit. The Greek word peripatéō (to walk and conduct oneself guided by the precepts of the Hebrew Scriptures) is used 15 additional times in Paul’s epistles. This suggests it to one of Paul’s core values. The text might connect this text to the Isaiah 2:1-4 text to walk in the paths of God’s instruction (Hultgren, 489-492).
A preaching path might be in Advent regarding how counter cultural are Christians to be in this season. In liturgical church traditions, there have been conflicts over whether to sing Christmas hymns during Sunday worship or only Advent hymns. Is battle worth it? Over the years in my ministry, I debate whether this is a cross I want to die on? I observe memorable times of children’s church experience was the singing of Christmas hymns, even in November! [Hultgren, Arland J., Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2011), Witherington, Ben III, A Socio Rhetorical Commentary: Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2004)].
Alternative Application
Rather than not being conformed to this world, has the modern church slipped in becoming more like the world in the way church organization structures operate, church workers compensated and deferral to the legal community rather than the Holy Spirit? Where has the church transformed the larger society and where is the church being transformed by the society it lives in?
Matthew 24:36-44
“Eschatology is never presented for the sake of mere information but always and consistently as a motivation for ethical living…the fact of the parousia, not the time of parousia is what matters. The evangelist [Matthew] stresses the need to be prepared for that coming reality.” (Hagner, 721). Dated around 85 CE, Matthew’s sources are the Gospel of Mark and a collections of sayings scholars call the “Q” source. Antioch and Syria are the two possible locations of authorship. Abiding presence of God with humanity is one emphasis of this entire gospel (Matthew 1:23, “...and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, ‘God with us.” The final verse is Matthew 28:20, “And remember I am with you always to the end of the age”). This is significant because any apocalyptic writings should be read in the framework of God’s ongoing presence through “to end of the age.” Moral and ethical teachings of Jesus are in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. God’s laws remain valid. Christians are to exhibit even greater righteousness than Jews or Gentiles of that day. Might this be a partial example of the fulfillment of the vision in Isaiah 2:1-4? (Powell, 614-615).
The text underscores the normalcy of life such as in the days of Noah. People were eating, making merry and marrying before the day of reckoning of the flood. The Advent theme here is to remain vigilant. While only God knows the time of the arrival of the parousia or Second Coming, one need not worry if they are living out the ethics of faith one practices in Advent. Matthew believes there will be a day of judgement for all people, but it is useless to speculate the exact date. Readiness for Matthew is Torah (Hebrew Bible) observance (c.f.: Isaiah 2:1-4) and following Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and finally seeking forgiveness and forgiving other people. Such Advent ethics are solid preparation for any day of judgment or sudden end of a chapter of history in the life of the believer (Culpepper, 482). A person could be present one day and gone the next. It does not reflect whether they are greater or lesser of a sinner. When it is a person’s time to go—God only knows! Therefore, Advent waiting should be a spiritual posture that is practiced year around! One never knows when an accident, or sudden natural disaster or violent act will occur which threatens a person’s life. Advent faith is to always be watchful and ready (24:42-44).
The illustration used is of a householder who should be alert for any intruders, as disciples are to be ready for sudden times of ending of life. Scripture becomes a living word for all times because every generation has seen such signs listed in Matthew 24:29, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Difficult times of trial and unpredictable configurations in the galaxy have occurred during every generation. The constant in the Christian life are the words from scripture that suggest we live a life of Advent readiness (Hagner, 720-721). [Sources: Culpepper, R. Alan, The New Testament Library: Matthew, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 20210, Hagner, Donald A., Word Biblical Commentary: Matthew 14-28, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995 Powell, Mark Alan, editor Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, New York, NY: Harper One, 2011)].
Application
In the Matthew lesson, readiness and watchfulness are recurring themes. Speculation of whether our current times of trials and unpredictable astronomy events are useless, as they have occurred in the past. Hence the same words of Matthew 24 that were read in European Middle Ages during assorted wars, disease and astrological discoveries are just as relevant today.
While in college in the 1970s, there was an assortment of apocalyptic books regarding the unique times of distress we were living in. I was told not to buy life insurance. I am glad I did as I am pretty sure my wife and I will have need of it. During the Y2K scare, my wife and I took time off to a Mennonite resort community, believing a huge mushroom cloud will come over Toledo, Ohio! It did not occur, but the Mennonite chicken and noodles were good. I still watch the 2012 movie at night when I cannot sleep. The “Field of Dreams” here in Iowa remains. Corn still grows and deer are plentiful. However, I watch for deer when driving at night. Our communities collect flood buckets in readiness in the event of a river flood. In this sense, Advent faith and ethics are year around. The ladies in the church group above are going to figure that money will be needed for school lunches next year. The winter snows will come and children will need warm coats and gloves. Finally, somebody will sing “Jingle Bells” off key on YouTube! And somebody will still try to do some not so well-thought-out physical stunt or trick to get a spot on social media. In some strange way, Christ says, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Alternative Application
The constants that have occurred in all ages is the body and mind ages, but the Spirit of Christ abides with me forever as Matthew preaches. What constants in our world would we miss if there was a Second Coming?
A three-point sermon might be: Be Ready, Be Watchful, Be Comforted with God’s presence.
