Advent 2 + Populous Zion
Text: Malachi 4 & Luke 21:25-36
The day is coming; the day is coming… But no, not the day you are all thinking of, not Christmas.
Instead, the Prophet Malachi speaks of the day Christ Jesus returns.
In one sense, our Old Testament reading from the last chapter of the last book of the Old Testament is about telling time – it speaks of our Lord’s final Advent, His final coming. And this is what our whole life is to be postured towards: the coming of Jesus.
These readings strike you, though, don’t they? They just aren’t what you expect this time of the year, as we will soon decorate the tree after service.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in our congregational readings this past week,
We have become accustomed to the idea of divine love and of God’s coming at Christmas that we no longer feel the shiver of fear that God’s coming should arouse within us. We are indifferent to the message, taking only the pleasant and agreeable out of it and forgetting the serious aspect that the God of the world draws near to the people of our little earth and lays claim to it.
And Malachi affirms today how the day of the Lord will be no walk in the park for those who do evil. In fact, it’s worse than a stocking full of coal because that coal will possess the fire of God’s judgment, where nothing remains beyond this life and world; there are no second chances or opportunities for future growth throughout the land.
Yet, unlike so many of the Gospel readings we have heard as of late, there is also a note of hope. As Malachi writes, “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.”
This is what the beginning of the introit and the name of this Sunday, Populous Zion, is also confessing as we prayed,
Say to the daughter of Zion,
“Behold, your salvation comes.”
So do as we heard in the Gospel, “straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
But those words, “Straighten up!”
How often did you hear these words as a child? When a person straightens up and raises their head, they display and possess confidence. That’s what these words are calling the Christian to do: straighten up, have confidence, or as we might say, have faith that the Lord who redeemed you upon the cross, “not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death,” is coming again to gather you and all believers into His holy Zion, into His eternal presence.
For this reason, we prayed the words of the Collect today, asking God to stir up within us a ready mind and heart, possessing confidence for the coming of God the Father’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
And you need your hearts aroused by God’s Word because the cares of this life and world the Gospel refers to not only press upon you as soon as you walk out of these doors today, they come upon you as a trap, sifting your confidence like sand.
Truthfully, you no longer find yourself straightening up for the day of the Lord; instead, all the commitments of the season leave you hunched over, head down, and plowing forward to check off tasks and make this the hap…happiest of Christmas’ of all.
Yet, it’s the mind and the heart that will be the source of so many of the troubles we experience as we strive for a perfect Christmas. It’s the gifts that fall short, the relationships around you that continue to be caught in conflict. Sure, we prayed this morning for God to stir up our hearts, but you might say this world already stirs them!
At the core, what causes these tribulations of the heart? Maybe it’s the idea that you believe the success and failure of Christmas depends upon you.
It’s no wonder that all these pressures of life form a savior complex in all of us, causing our hearts and minds to fret and be filled with anxiousness, especially this time of year.
Yet, we must remember that the success of Christmas arrived when Jesus was born of Mary.
The success and fulfillment of Christmas was revealed from the cross as Jesus hung and died for your sins.
The success of Christmas is confessed every time you gather to hear God’s Word and receive the flesh and blood of Christ at this altar.
So, how do we rid ourselves of the anxiousness that weighs down our hearts and minds? We don’t. Instead, we do as the Apostle Paul says,
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6 NKJV)
In other words, do what you’re supposed to do throughout the season of Advent (and really all the time): pray to your heavenly Father ceaselessly, and in this way, be prepared for His coming on the last day.
But do you want to know the kicker to all of this? You don’t have to come up with the words for your prayers; instead, do as the liturgy teaches us and speak the words of your heavenly Father back to Him. Permit His Words to be your prayer and supplications.
You see, it’s in this way the Holy Spirit comes to you and “calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.”
I love this because it is a reminder of how the Holy Spirit makes you the daughter of the people of Zion, as we said at the beginning of the introit, His chosen people. It’s the Holy Spirit that makes you ready for the final advent and coming of your salvation. It’s the Holy Spirit that gives you the confidence and faith to “Look up and lift up your heads,” to see “your redemption [drawing] near.”
So take to heart how fleeting our time on earth is and how this Advent serves as another reminder of our nearing day of judgment. Do not be indifferent to the message of Jesus, but be made ready by prayer and supplication – your Savior is near, and He brings with Him your redemption. +INJ+
