A man approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, “Eighteen to nothing—we’re behind.”
“Boy,” said the spectator, “I’ll bet you’re discouraged.”
“Why should I be discouraged?” replied the little boy. “We haven’t even gotten up to bat yet!”
In the year 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar (five points if you can spell it correctly) became King of Babylon, and Babylon was a force to be reckoned with. Through a series of battles, Judah, with Jerusalem as its capital, became a vassal state of Babylon. In other words, as long as Judah did what the Babylonians told them, Judah could pretend it was a sovereign country.
The Babylonian grip on Judah held for several years, but then Egypt defeated the Babylonians in a significant battle, so everyone began to think that Egypt was the rising power, including the King of Judah. So, he cast off the shackles of Babylon and took up the shackles of the Egyptians. This did not go over well with the Babylonians, who stormed back on the scene and put everyone back in their proper place. In addition, Nebuchadnezzar handpicked the next King of Judah, Zedekiah.
Zedekiah was a good boy for a while but then became too big for his britches. He rebelled against the Babylonians. At this point, Old Nebuchadnezzar had had enough of this troublesome fly and again laid siege to Jerusalem. Enter the Prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremiah begins to prophesy against Zedekiah. In his first message, Jeremiah says, “Thus the Lord said to me: ‘Make yourself straps and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck.’” (Jeremiah 27:2) Straps and yoke-bars were signs of people being carried off into slavery. Through Jeremiah, the Lord then says, “Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes.” (Jeremiah 27:6-7a) The Lord is saying that unless Zedekiah and the Israelites repent of their sins, He is going to use Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians to punish them. How did it end? Zedekiah “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord.” (2 Chronicles 36:12) Zedekiah did not obey, and Jerusalem was sacked, and the Temple of God, the First Temple, was destroyed. In addition, the Israelites were taken as slaves of the Babylonians. (This is known as the Babylonian Captivity.)
Fortunately, the Babylonians would not have the last word. Jeremiah will prophesy again. We heard it in our first reading. “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety.” (Jeremiah 33:14-16a) The Lord is saying to His people, “Don’t be discouraged. We haven’t even gotten up to bat yet!”
I told you once before that when I first really began reading the Bible, I started with the Book of Revelation. I don’t remember exactly why, but I do remember that even to begin to understand parts of what is being said, you more or less have to read the entire Bible. Perhaps because of that first read, I enjoy going back through it, not trying to sort out the end of the world. I find it fascinating. I’ve just about completed another read through it and have been doing so with the help of a commentary by Bishop N.T. Wright. You get passages of incredible beauty and passages that are straight-up Stephen King. That latter bit draws in most readers, but you quickly realize that most of the imagery is beyond our understanding. I am of the opinion that when the things spoken of in Revelation begin to occur, anyone and everyone will be able to say, “So, that’s what it means.”
As we read through it, we discover dragons, falling stars, cups of God’s wrath, and plagues upon humanity. Many believe Christian believers will not endure any suffering during that time. I say, read it again. Perhaps the believers won’t have to endure the plagues, but there is more than enough persecution going on that will affect everyone. It is one catastrophe after another, and they are horrifying. And, in reading the messages and prophecies, many say they are being fulfilled today. Perhaps they are, but keep in mind, since Revelation was written, there have been those who believe what is being spoken occurred in their lifetime.
Without going into the argument for or against, the Gospel reading we have today from Luke is something of a two-paragraph summation of all that John reports in Revelation.
Jesus said, “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.” That is all in Revelation; just expanded there.
Jesus says there will be great signs in the heavens and on the earth. People will be terrified. Revelation tells us that they will be under so much duress and fear they will beg for death, but it will not come to them. Then Jesus says, “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near.” Jesus says, “Stand up. Pay attention. It is our turn to go to bat.”
It is fascinating, yet for many, their response is, “I hear you, Father John, but to be honest, I got my own problems. There may be wars and rumors of wars, but have you been to my house lately? There’s a few wars going on there, too. There may be signs in the heavens, but there’s a sign on a piece of mail I just got, and it reads, ‘Past Due.’ How does all this apply to me today?”
My time on social media goes in spurts. Sometimes, I’ll scroll too much; other times, I forget it is out there. When I scroll, I have a few favorite pages, one of which has to do with liminal spaces. One article defines liminal spaces.
“Liminal spaces are transitional or transformative spaces that are neither here nor there; they are the in-between places or thresholds we pass through from one area to another.
“These spaces often evoke feelings of eeriness or discomfort because they are not meant for staying, but rather for passing through, such as empty parking lots at night, hallways, stairwells and abandoned malls.” (Source)
Think of it as passing through a doorway from one room to the next. The liminal space is the doorway, the threshold. That is where we are in the unfolding of God’s plan—standing in the doorway. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has already won the victory, but it is not yet His turn to bat, so we are in the space in between. At times, it is disorienting and uncomfortable. At times, we still experience the pain and anxiety of the room we just left. The next room is our true home, but we are not there yet, which is why Jesus gives us very specific instructions as we stand waiting in the doorway.
“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
The Season of Advent, which we begin today, is approximately four weeks long, ending with the celebration of the Birth of Jesus. However, the Spirit of Advent is one that we live every day. It is a Spirit of patience and perseverance, of being alert and watching, of knowing the victory has been won but not yet complete. You and I stand on the threshold of the very Kingdom of God—the new Heaven and Earth. “Stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Let us pray:Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Candle in a Cave 