How Will Emmanuel Arrive?

How Will Emmanuel Arrive?
Rev. Dr. Chris Hensley
December 1st, 2024
Luke 21:25-36

There is often great uncertainty when it comes to reading the Bible. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, though. Uncertainty, as those doing the book study with Tillie are learning and being reminded of, is not a bad thing, even when it comes to matters of faith. As we begin this season of Advent, this season of waiting, preparation, and arrival, it is fitting to reflect on what it is that we are waiting for within Christianity, and the significance of this waiting period. Christianity’s roots are within Judaism, the tradition began as a Jewish sect who interpreted the figures spoken of in various places throughout several prophetic texts, Isaiah in particular, were pointing to the person of Jesus of Nazareth. This poor country kid whose mother became pregnant under questionable circumstances, whose family fled to Egypt becoming refugees before he was old enough to sit up on his own, and who made friends with all sorts of unscrupulous individuals as an adult. Further, the leader of this movement, Jesus, is more a reformer than anything else, and his fate is the same as many reformers throughout history, death at the hands of the powers that be.

Yet, this is the one for whom we wait and there will be signs, according to Luke’s author, that will accompany the arrival or advent of this one for whom we wait. Our passage for this morning is located in Luke’s version of the little apocalypse, a section wherein Jesus offers a prophetic word about the eschaton, or the end. Interestingly enough, the first half of the chapter which is prior to our reading, reveals that Jesus offers a series of non-indicators of the eschaton, which for Luke involves the arrival of the Son of Man. Son of Man being a Messianic title attributed to Jesus based on interpretations of several of those Hebrew prophets I mentioned a moment ago. Basically, Luke begins this chapter by stating that there will be untold chaos, troubles and destruction, and none of these things is a sign that the end is nigh. In fact, for Luke and the contemporaries who received this account initially, Jesus is talking about an event which occurred in their past. Luke is recording Jesus’ words which were likely uttered in either the late 20s or early 30s of the first century AD/CE. Jesus mentioned that the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem would take place, for Luke, that is old news. Richard Vinson reminds us that the scholarly consensus as to the date of the writing of Luke was between 80-100 AD/CE. At earliest, that means that the destruction of the Temple which Jesus predicts would have been a decade prior to Luke having been written.

This also means that the prophecies which Luke attributes to Jesus were already fifty years old, and, if you are crafty, you can make a prophecy fit just about anywhere you would like. It does not help that Luke’s account of the little apocalypse is vague, offering little in the way of definitive signs. Honestly, “there will be signs in the stars and moon,” and “nations confused by the crashing of the waves,” are constantly occuring. Waves always crash, as a reminder. It feels, as Vinson further mentions, like a scene from Monty Python’s Life of Brian with the eclectic prophets standing in the market and uttering cryptic and jarring messages. Seriously, Luke’s Jesus seems to be nailing Jell-O to the wall in his efforts to offer a definitive timetable for his arrival, whenever that is and whatever that will look like.

Jesus’ teachings continue in our passage for this morning with a parable utilizing the fig tree as a signal that summer is approaching. We know that winter is coming as we look through our worship window into the world God has given us and see the bare trees with only a few leaves clinging on to their branches. Fred Craddock points out that there is an intentional movement in Jesus’ teachings from the grand scale of the cosmos, to the natural world, and then, finally, to the hearers of the message. These vague signs which have persisted since time immemorial will signal the coming of the Son of Man. What then, ought we be doing with ourselves as we see these vague signs come and go and come again?

Be alert, so Jesus says. The coming of the Son of Man will be a surprise. As all of these signs persist, so too should we persist. There is a vague discussion as to when the Kingdom or Kin-dom of God should appear in the here and now. It is now, yet there were no triumphal shouts of acclamation or trumpets announcing the arrival of the king. The point is to say, the Kin-dom of God and the coming of the Son of Man are revealed in the everyday, mundane events of life punctuated by the loving actions of the people of God.

So, how will Emmanuel arrive? What will be the signs for which we must remain alert? Emmanuel, whose arrival we anticipate during every Advent season, arrives again and again as the people of God bear witness to the steadfast love of God in the day-to-day goings on in our lives. Emmanuel arrives when we give voice to the voiceless. Emmanuel arrives when we tend as good stewards to the garden that is this world. Emmanuel arrives when we give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and care for the sick.