By: The Venerable Michael J. McKinnon
Be prepared! For the King, our Saviour, draweth nigh!
Be prepared: Several years ago now, I was attending a Christmas Party at my parent’s house in CT. At some point during the party, my Goddaughter asked everyone to listen as she recited the Lord’s Prayer for us from memory. She was about four (although now she is about 30). She began, “Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name…”. “So far so good”, I thought. I was a proud Godfather. Suddenly, she shifted from the traditional version to the following, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done…you better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout…but deliver us from evil. Amen”. We all laughed and exclaimed enthusiastically, “Amen”! I remember thinking, “Well, that’s one way to look at the Second Coming of Jesus”. You better “watch” out. The Great Day of His kingdom is coming, and we better be prepared. We are to keep watch for the coming of our Lord.
Advent is a season of preparation in which the people of God prepare for the coming of the Saviour. He comes to us in many ways: in the fellowship of the Church, through the proclamation of His Word, through the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, in the person to whom we minister and at the time of our death. Primarily, however, the Church, as the Bride of Christ in the world, prepares for the coming of her Groom from heaven on the Great Day. “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready…” (RSV: Revelation 19:7). We are to make ourselves ready, like a Bride preparing to meet her Groom on her wedding day; the day which she has, with much anticipated joy and hope, eagerly awaited. Thus, Advent is primarily a season of preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne” (Matthew 25:31). Our Lord is in the world now – through His Church – as the Divine Physician, the healer of our bodies and souls. However, the day is coming when He will return as the Great and Divine Judge. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10b). This He said in reference to His death and resurrection. Indeed, through His incarnation LIFE has conquered death and has become the final word in this world. We will see the fulfillment of all things and the fruition of this divine gift of life on the day of the Second Coming. But when will He come? When will this occur?
The Scriptures are clear. We do not know the day or the hour, “[A]s to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2). We should not spend our time wondering about when He shall come, but in continual preparation for His coming. We are to keep watch for the Great Day in which death succumbs to life. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). “Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:24-26). After that, the Kingdom of Life – which has overthrown the kingdom of death – shall reign and of His Kingdom, there shall be no end!
The second Lesson for today reminds us, “[S]alvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near” (Romans 13:11b-12a). Thus, His coming is nearer now than when you first begin reading this reflection.
How are we to prepare? Colossians 3:2-4 states, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” These verses in God’s word remind us that our “life is hid with Christ in God”. Our life is found in Christ, in His person. We are not to be persons of the world, but persons of the Word; the word of life. “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).
“When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).