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The Third Sunday Of Advent (Gaudete)
Stir up thy power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let thy bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be honor and glory, world without end. Amen.
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The Third Sunday Of Advent (Gaudete)
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A Sermon by
Fr. Spurlock
✛
The Day of the Lord
Advent, of all the seasons of the church year is less about the past than about the future. In our observances of the church year, we don’t look for another Pentecost, nor do we anticipate another crucifixion. We don’t hope that Christ will be born again or resurrected again. Christmas and Easter are celebrations and remembrances of things that happened once and long ago. They are historical events that did happen in time and space and in history, as far as man’s reckoning is concerned. Advent is the only season that looks forward to things not yet accomplished. It is the great anticipation that rests between God’s past action in the life, death and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ to his future action in the return of his son Jesus Christ and the general resurrection of the dead. “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5.28-29 Advent reminds us that we are in an in between time and that God is not finished with us, there is still more to come. Indeed, Advent is from a Latin verb meaning to come.
What is to come? To take up the language of both the lessons appointed tonight, we are waiting for the day of the Lord; an event anticipated throughout the Old and New Testaments. “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” 2 Thess 2.1-2 “Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand.” Isaiah 13.6
We howl because the day of the Lord is accompanied by frightful images. There is to be warfare, persecution, strange devouring beasts, consuming fire, famine, pestilence, the wrath of God and his awful judgments. Neither should we be shaken in mind or troubled, because God’s mercies are just as shocking. The Lord says, “I will sow [the unfaithful] unto me in the earth, and I will have mercy upon [them] that had not obtained mercy; and I will say unto them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.” Hosea 2.23
The day of the Lord is a day chosen by God to fulfill his purposes. Having created all things and having made covenants with mankind, particularly with a chosen people called Israel, God retained authority to set a period of time in which the people’s faithfulness or faithlessness as the case might be, would be revealed. The day that the Lord chose for his coming would surprise the people, whether it was earlier or later than they anticipated. ”If the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.” Luke 12.39 When the day of the Lord arrives, God’s verdicts will be as surprising as the day itself. The Lord will condemn where approval is expected and he will comfort and save where punishment is expected.
When will the day of the Lord come? I can’t tell you that because I don’t know. And neither does anyone else. That has not stopped a lot of people from calculating and proclaiming fixed dates on the calendar on which the day of the Lord will come. So far, every one of these false prophets has been in error. And so long as men think that they can get inside the mind of God, though he has told them that the day is incalculable, they will continue to err in this respect. So long as men continue to think of the day of the Lord as being a date fixed on the calendar, rather than God’s movement toward his people to fulfill his purposes, self-proclaimed prophets will continue to err in this respect as well. “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels in heaven, but my Father only.” That is to quote Jesus Christ. Matt 24.36 The good prophet neither preaches panic because the day is so near, nor does he preach despair or complacency because the day is far off. The good prophet preaches preparedness, for we do not know the hour, only the certainty of its coming. “For the Lord hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” Acts 17.31
Another aspect of our anticipation is a fascination with searching the signs. Is it possible to tell when the day of the Lord is at hand? It is doubtful that any one of us is so good at reading the signs. Jesus likened the day of the Lord to the days of Noah. “For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matt 24.38
So, is there anything you can do about the day of the Lord? Yes, there is. You can live in the certainty of it, and if it is your lot to die before its appearing, you can die in the hope of it. It may be that you will live to see it come. Or you may die, like innumerable hopefuls that preceded you, in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life. But whether you live to see it or die in the hope of it; don’t worry about it. It will come when the Lord wills and there is nothing you can do to forestall it or to speed its arrival. “For who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Luke 12.25
But do watch. This is the watchword of Advent. And here it might be worth considering that if Advent is about the future and not the past, then we should in our living be observing a perpetual Advent and not confine it to the four weeks before Christmas. Our living should embody our expectation of the Lord’s coming. Jesus told a story about ten virgins who were sent to wait the coming of the bridegroom. They each had lamps, but only five brought oil for them. At an unexpected hour they heard the cry, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh.” The five women who were prepared were carried along into the marriage feast while the unprepared were shut out. Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Matt 25 1-13
How can you prepare? It’s not so literal as having a lamp handy is it? But our preparedness is as practical a matter as a young woman needing a light to see by at night. This is how you stay prepared. Make your confession. Receive the Eucharist. Love your neighbor and love the Lord and do not neglect to teach your children to do the same. Pray for your enemies and forgive those who trespass against you. Be more ready to give than to receive; more ready to serve than to be served. Have compassion and make provision for the poor. Live in love and charity with those around you.
It is just about that simple. Make this your life’s work, and whether the Lord comes today or ages from now, you will be found rejoicing to behold his appearing.
