Advent Begins in the Dark

Hallelujah! 

For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!

Hallelujah!

The kingdom of this world is become

The kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ

And He shall reign for ever and ever!

Reading Fleming Rutledge's sermons on Advent this season, I'm reminded daily that the best antidote to the sadness and anger of reading the daily news is reflecting on the "once and future" coming of King Jesus. "Advent begins in the dark", waiting for a promise to be fulfilled. It's apocalyptic in its focus. After 400 years of silence, John the Baptist heralds the beginning of the age to come, "Prepare the way of the Lord!" The present evil age—in which all creation is enslaved to sin and death—is to be invaded by the King of the age to come. Christ came to reclaim territory occupied by the enemy, redeeming a multi-ethnic people held in sin's captivity. 

It marks a turning point in history, not unlike D-Day as the turning point of WW2, though the final victory was more than a year away. "We look forward to the promised day when Jesus will come again, not incognito as he did the first time, but 'in glory', as the Nicene Creed puts it." The Word will have the last word.

Advent begins in the dark. The hope of Christ's return to destroy evil and make all things right is deepened by our lament that things are not as they ought to be: in us, our families, our church, our nation, our world. Advent invites us to ask the hard questions, "Why do evildoers seem to prosper?", "Why do you allow so much suffering?", "Where are you, God?", and in the haunting words of David, Asaph and Habakkuk: "How long, O Lord?". Rutledge writes, "The great theme of Advent is hope, but it is not tolerable to speak of hope unless we are willing to look squarely at the overwhelming presence of evil in our world." 

We don't know the answers to these hard questions, but we have an expectation and hope—that will not disappoint—that the Master of the house is coming back. Advent invites us to sit in this tension, but in another sense, all of the Christian's life in this time-between-the-ages, is Advent, isn't it? Like John the Baptist, we are witnesses to the coming of Christ, heralding His certain return to put an end to sin and death and establish his Kingdom of righteousness, justice and peace.

Going back to the D-Day analogy, we're resistance fighters in the enemy's territory, putting up "signs and beachheads, signifying ultimate victory". Trusting in God's sure return, we are called to watch for Him, cast off the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light, for salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 

How do we advance the Kingdom that will not come in fullness or be perfected until Christ's return? We participate in the Kingdom work that God is *already* doing in the world. "Aslan is on the move" and we as citizens of Heaven are by his grace given the opportunity to join him in bringing light into dark places. From feeding the hungry, housing and clothing the poor, to visiting the sick and incarcerated, to proclaiming the Good News of salvation, the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will also provide and multiply our seed and increase the harvest of our righteousness. We who have been given everything needed for life and godliness are free to move out into the world, caring for those who are oppressed. We need no longer fear the present or the future for we are held by Christ and by his grace given the Holy Spirit, our guarantee of sharing in Christ's inheritance that we will possess when he returns. May we, like Paul, consider our lives worth nothing to us; our only aim being to finish the race and complete the task Christ has given us—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God

and the authority of his Christ have now come, 

because the accuser of our brothers and sisters,

who accuses them before our God day and night,

has been thrown down.

They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony;

for they did not love their lives to the point of death.

Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them!

Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you with great fury, 

because he knows his time is short. 

(Rev. 12:10-12)