Weekly Sermon Overview

Message Date: August 17, 2014 Message Title: Be Watchful

OVERVIEW Overview “Life in a prison cell may well be compared to Advent: one waits , hopes, and does this, that, or the other—things that are real ly of no consequence—the door is shut, and can only be opened from the outside.” And, if you are familiar with any of Bonhoeffer’s teachings about Advent, you will realize that, here, He is talking about much more than the sense of anticipation that surrounds the holiday season. In one of his Christmas sermons, he wrote: “Through al l the Advents of our l i fe that we celebrate runs the longing for the last Advent, when the word wil l be: ‘See, I am making al l things new’ (Rev. 21:5). The Advent season is a season of wait ing, but our whole l i fe is an Advent season, that is , a season of wait ing for the last Advent, for the t ime when there wil l be a new heaven and a new earth.” In other words, in comparing the Advent season to life in prison and the whole of Christian life to the Advent season, Bonhoeffer articulates for us an extremely profound and vital truth that, all too often, is lost upon the Western Church: Jesus is coming back, and there is nothing, here and now, that will, in any way, compare to the glory that will be revealed to and in us on that day. That is the heart of what Jesus is driving at in Luke 17:20-37: Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor wil l people say, ‘Here i t is , ’ or ‘There i t is , ’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Then he said to his disciples, “The t ime is coming when you wil l long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you wil l not see i t . People wil l tel l you, ‘There he is! ’ or ‘Here he is! ’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day wil l be l ike the l ightning, which

f lashes and l ights up the sky from one end to the other. But f irst he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as i t was in the days of Noah, so also wil l i t be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the f lood came and destroyed them all . I t was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and sel l ing, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, f ire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all . I t wil l be just l ike this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the f ield should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tr ies to keep their l i fe wil l lose i t , and whoever loses their l i fe wil l preserve i t . I tel l you, on that night two people wil l be in one bed; one wil l be taken and the other left . Two women wil l be grinding grain together; one wil l be taken and the other left .” “Where, Lord?” they asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures wil l gather.” (Luke 17:20-37) Here, Luke records for us two conversations, both of which deal with misconceptions about the coming of the Kingdom of God. The first conversation takes place between Jesus and some Pharisees, the question that opens the discussion being, “When will the Kingdom of God come?” As has been well-documented, the question that the Pharisees were driving at was, “When will God fulfill His promise to us?” For nearly 1500 years, God’s chosen people had waited for the full realization of God’s promise given to their patriarch, Abraham: “I wil l make you into a great nation, and I wil l bless you; I wil l make your name great, and you wil l be a blessing. I wil l bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I wil l curse; and al l peoples on earth wil l be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3) Over the course of those centuries, they had suffered at the hands of foreign armies, incompetent monarchs, and imperial despots, among many others, all the while

longing for the day when God would deliver them, bless them, and make them the pride of the planet, the envy and joy of the whole earth. And, the Pharisees, seeing in Jesus unexpected yet undeniable authority asked Him, “Do you know when all of this is going to happen?” Jesus response, now familiar to us, must have thoroughly confused and scandalized the Pharisees. “What do you mean, ‘When will the Kingdom come?’ Haven’t you been paying attention? It’s already here!” This response forms the first half of the doctrine that has come to be known as inaugurated eschatology or Kingdom theology, a doctrine that we have discussed in detail throughout this series. The central concern of the synoptic Gospel writers—and, clearly one Jesus’ central concerns throughout His ministry—was the proclamation of the arrival of the promised and long-awaited Kingdom of the Heavens. “The Kingdom of God has come near! Repent and believe the Good News!” (Mark 1:15) The Kingdom exists wherever the King is; therefore, Jesus’ advent on planet Earth signified and effected the inauguration of the Kingdom of God. And, this, as we see throughout the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, has profound implications for life here and now, as we, citizens of the Kingdom through nearness to Him, are granted access to the power and resources of the King. But, then Jesus turns His attention to His disciples: “The t ime is coming when you wil l long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you wil l not see i t… (Luke 17:22) Here, Jesus articulates the second component of inaugurated eschatology: though the Kingdom of the Heavens is already a present reality due to the first advent of the King, it is not yet fully realized as it will be when He comes again. We also see this truth expressed throughout the New Testament, and this too has profound implications for our lives. It means that, though we are already citizens of heaven, with all of the rights and privileges thereof, this world is not yet heaven, and we will

continue to struggle to work out and live out our heavenly citizenship while we are still exiled (1 Peter 2:11) in the kingdom of this world. This is why Bonhoeffer’s analogy is so appropriate, and this is why Jesus cautions His disciples: “Remember Lot’s wife…” (Luke 17:32) See, living between advents requires a great deal of intentionality; life in exile always does because assimilation is a real concern. We are citizens of another place but we are living in this place, and, while that place is not yet fully realized, this place is immediate and tantalizing and loud, shouting at us from every direction, frenetic with what passes for life, and it is easy to be fooled. It is far too easy for us to be fooled by and distracted by the half-life that surrounds us and forget that real life is both available now and on its way. Institutionalism, as we can see by even the quickest of glances at the modern Church—really, at the Church in any era—is a real threat. So, Jesus tells us to be on our guard, to keep watch, because He is coming back. He warns us not to be fooled by counterfeits—His return will be unannounced and unmistakable—and not to be distracted by and absorbed into the culture around us. Many, He says, will be eating and drinking and celebrating on that day and, as a result, will be caught completely off-guard by His coming, but He warns us that we should live differently, that we should stand guard, that we should be nimble. We see this posture reflected throughout the life of the early Church: All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. (Acts 2:44-45) They lived with a sense of urgency and anticipation, refusing to get attached to the world around them, even to the point of selling their ancestral property, because they expected and longed for the return of their King. There was, in them, a desperation and a yearning to see and experience life in the Kingdom, both as an already present reality and, significantly, as not yet realized future. The same should be true for us. We live in a culture of eating and drinking and celebrating, a society defined by excess and stupor and distraction, all of which dulls

the edge of our anticipation, but Jesus warns us not to be institutionalized, not to forget who we are, to live differently. We are a people called to be, invited to be, defined by the presence of the inaugurated King, following His example and relying on His power, as we wait for His second advent. And, as we wait, we need to remember that we are in prison and spend our lives staring at the door; we need to remember that our bridegroom is coming and wait with full lamps (Matthew 25). Author: Josh Harrison REFLECTION QUESTION

1. If someone asked you what it meant to “be ready,” how would you articulate your response? What does being ready mean to you?

2. The idea of Christ coming back can lead to a plethora of feelings. At first reflection, what does your heart feel about the second coming of Christ, and why do you think that is the case?

NEXT STEP RESOURCES (Check out these resources for additional reading on this topic.)

1. Who Is This Man: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus by John Ortberg

2. The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey