Advent 1: God's presence in his coming

The movie, 2012, is about the overwhelming natural disaster. One of the shots of the movie is that the Italian Prime Minister joined with the people prayed in Vatican instead of boarding, but there was no miracle. Ironically, St. Peter Cathedral was collapsed and the attendants were killed. Since 2012 is not a Christian movie, we should not expect that there is a shot that God finally manifests and saves.

Regarding the emergence of natural disasters, Christians normally have two kind of responses. Firstly, they are inclined to correlate natural disasters to the Parouisa (the second coming of Jesus). There is nothing wrong of this inclination, because this is what Jesus’ words have implied. He said,

Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see or yourselves
and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you
know that the kingdom of God is near. (Lk 21:29-30)

As a result, with reference to the frequency of natural disasters, they conclude that Jesus will come back soon. In this mentality, they are eager to preach the gospel and to be alert. Secondly, some Christians are inclined to provide theological explanations of natural disasters in order to show that the natural disaster does not come at its own, but under God’s control. This has happened in the outbreak of SARs in 2003, and tsunami in 2004. Religious reason is always very appealing and welcome during the time of natural disasters, for our normal rationality is suspending, and we need reason to go on. Are we satisfied with either of these explanations?

I prefer to neither of them. The message of today’s scripture (Lk 21:25-36) is not about the prediction of the coming of Jesus, for Jesus has said clearly that ‘about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.’ (Mk 13:32) Hence, the core message of the passage is simply that God would not leave us alone. Catastrophe can kill, but this is not the last word, for God would save. But is this our experience? For example, does God save our people in the Sichuan earthquake in 2008? One may argue that if God did not stop it, the degree of catastrophe would be more serious. Some even may argue that the earthquake is not far from worldwide, and therefore, Jesus has not returned yet. I have no interest to explain the reason behind the disasters, for the attempts to explain the unexplainable is simply an attempt to control. To believe is learn to accept the unexplainable in lives.

Today scripture not only tells us, but also comfort us that we should not be afraid of what is and will be happening, because in the midst of catastrophe, we will not only see the glory of God, but God’s glory means that God will save (v.27-28). How can we see the people killed in the earthquake without fear? How can we see the people suffered in the time of flooding or drought without fear? In fact, fear is the natural instinct of humankinds in order to prepare ourselves for the worst. There is nothing wrong to fear, but if afraid of something has made you lose the courage to challenge and the hope to fight on, we have submitted to fear more than that fear helps us to prepare. Thus, the promise of God’s salvation has two senses. Firstly, it is about the final salvation. God would not leave us alone. Secondly, in the interim, the promise of God’s salvation strengthens our hearts so that we would not be defeated.

To be honest, the church has no exemption from the destruction of natural disasters, if any. In the movie, 2012, the Vatican is demolished, and the people who pray are killed. I do not think that this is an intention of the director to show that there is no God. On the contrary, I appreciate it very much, because the people of God share the same destiny of the people. Bishop Oscar Romero who was assassinated in El Salvador said, ‘I am pleased to know that my priests are also killed, because we share the fate of my people (they are killed by the military).’ The scripture reminds us to see the fig tree and all the trees to know when God’s kingdom is near. We, Christians, may be comforted by this message. But what does this message mean to non-Christians who are in suffering? I think they need a message of God’s presence instead of a message of waiting for the realization of God’s kingdom. Has God’s kingdom arrived or is God’s kingdom coming soon?

It is both, because the incarnation of Jesus is the concrete realization of God’s kingdom, and his Parousia is the complete realization of God’s kingdom which is coming soon. Thus, it is our responsibility to show to non-Christians (the world) the concrete realization of God’s kingdom instead of the completer realization of God’s kingdom, for waiting for God’s kingdom, for them, is simply the absence of God. Matt 25: 31-46 tells us that the presence of God’s kingdom is revealed not in words, but in deed.

In church calendar, the advent is a time to remind us that we should not be afraid, for Jesus is coming. How can we proclaim the message of comfort to our society that does not believe in Jesus' coming? Do we turn our Christian message of comfort to be a message of an absent God?