Advent, Already?

Isaiah 64:1-9; 1 Corinthians 1:3–9; Matthew 13:24–37

It's been a long time since I saw you all last time. As I am in Songdo while in charge of the Yonsei International Campus, it feels like a distant past that I was leading worship at Luce Chapel and conducting Bible studies. Someone's tombstone says, "I was lingering and I thought this would happen", but when I lingered, the year passed quickly, and Advent, waiting for the coming of Jesus Christ, began. “Advent, already?” Like the sermon title, Advent has already come. If you wait for the coming of Jesus and rejoice, it would be called Advent, but it is already Advent. It’s Advent because it’s so lingering on. We have entered the season of Advent without even having time to prepare for it.

While preparing a sermon, there was a prayer poem that caught my eye. It is a poem from a book called “Pray for the Four Seasons” written by a pastor. Let me introduce you to the poem since I reckoned that it is in line with the theme of today’s sermon.

Lord, let me not meet the fall and winter of my life without preparation.

Let it be a life of hope to live while looking at the coming kingdom of God.

Also, let us be the life of the Holy Spirit who lives while enjoying the kingdom of God that is already here.

Just as spring comes, summer comes, and summer comes, fall and winter,

Help me live day by day, believing that God's end time will surely come.

Whenever the seasons change, help me realize what to do.

Give me the wisdom to see the four seasons of life. Amen

Like the poet's petition today, I hope that we all have the wisdom to see the four seasons of life. For us Christians, discerning the four seasons of life means knowing the seasons of Christ. It is important in Advent that we see the seasons prepared by Christ and have the attitude to live in accordance with those seasons.

We make mid-to long-term plans such as 1, 5, 10, 20 years. We plan for the future of the church, for a new leap forward in school, and for the fruit of life. And in order to achieve that plan, we prepare and act, settle the result, and make a new plan. However, when we look back on our beliefs as we celebrate Advent, we find something different from the attitude of life in such thorough planning, preparation, practice, and settlement of results. When we wait for Advent, is there anyone who has a mid- to long-term plan? There is no one-year plan, five-year plan, 10-year plan for Advent preparation. So maybe in the blink of an eye, Advent is already approaching.

Advent is right before our eyes, and we are not ready yet. There are so many things to do. There will be a lot to do ahead of the end of the year. There are many things to do at work, at home, and personally. Having dealt with them, it is difficult to properly prepare to meet Jesus. Even now, while worshiping, isn't the left brain organizing the things to be done after the worship? As the time approaches for waiting for the Lord to come as we are striving for other things, “already!” pops out of your mouth.

We are not ready to meet Jesus even though we are faithful and faithful. We have been working together to make a good church. I worked hard to offer holy worship. Also, we put a lot of effort into sharing love. We have a beautiful chapel, brothers and sisters of faith, worship to experience God's holiness, a community of service. But even if we worship every week, meditate on the Bible, have fellowship of love, and keep praying, the reason Advent makes us say 'already' is because there is still something that is lacking. Because of what is lacking, do we feel embarrassed and difficult to wait for Jesus Christ in a properly prepared manner every time we face Advent?

Today's passage in Mark's Gospel is deeply related to the time when heaven and earth disappear, the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the temple, which was actually considered the same as heaven and earth. Usually the Gospel of Mark is said to be written about A.D. 70, or just before the destruction of the temple. Today's text is also viewed as a record of about A.D. 70. Jesus lived before A.D. 70. If we look at Jesus' crucifixion around A.D. 30, what happened about 40 years later was the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.

At least 40 years before the destruction of the temple, Jesus proclaimed, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away,” as mentioned in verse 31 today. At the time Jesus proclaimed these words, the temple was also standing firmly, and no clue could be found for the destruction of the temple. At the time, the disciples would have wondered what they were saying. But in about 70 years after 40 years, when Jerusalem was besieged and the temple was destroyed, these words of Jesus would have been renewed to the disciples and to their disciples. The temple is destroyed, but what Jesus said continues. It became a hope for the disciples, and it is a word of hope for us as well. Even in the midst of despair, hope exists in Christ.

The point that is emphasized in the Gospel of Mark today, which speaks of hope in despair, is that "the temple does not qualify as the kingdom of God." The key to Jesus Christ's proclamation linked to the fig tree is “the kingdom of God.” However, the temple, which should be most suitable as the realization of the kingdom of God, is very insufficient in its role. The temple as time and space to embody the kingdom of God is disqualified and is on the brink of destruction. The temple, the only place to face and serve God, is unfortunately the subject of that reproach.

2000 years ago the temple in Jerusalem was rebuked by Jesus Christ. What is frightening is the signs that the reprimand did not end 2000 years ago. Isn't our church now the object of rebuke before Jesus Christ? The church must be the reflection of the kingdom of God. When Jesus began his public life, He began the kingdom of God by proclaiming healing, restoration, and liberation to the poor, blind, suffering, and oppressed. The church should be the place to do the job. It must be a place of healing, recovery, and liberation. But I ask myself weather the church is playing that role. It is difficult to answer with confidence. An eminent Christian ethicist named Rasmussen criticizes the churches in human civilization as being "struggled as if tied to a leash (severely expressed like a dog)." It's a painful rebuke. It means that the church, which has to present the direction that society should aim for, is being dragged by society.

It seems that church and society are not separated like décalcomanie. If division, conflict, oppression, and discrimination continue in the church like society, we cannot escape the reproof of Jesus Christ. Jesus' words of reproof, alluding to the destruction of the temple today, make us question whether we can expect hope. Rather, it asks us if we are passive in waiting for the end and asking for a separate life from society. But the reprimand in today's text doesn't tell us to pass through a period of despair passively.

The chapter 13 of Mark's Gospel, which foretells the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, is commonly called the Apocalypse. Because it contains a story about the end. In many cases, hearing about the apocalypse brings more feelings of despair than hope. And those who actually say "It's the end" are waiting for the destruction of the world, not expressing their responsibility for the world or their expectations for change. Often when we say “the world is coming to an end!”, it contains the nuance of catastrophe rather than expecting a new era.

Of course, it's hard to talk about hope in the midst of despair. If you get too used to the darkness, you won't be happy with the light. Or even hope is fading. When faith is shamanized and faith cannot go beyond the framework of human desire, the misjudgment of Jesus Christ is neither new nor happy. The expression “already” Advent may mean that the coming of Jesus Christ has become a meaninglessly repeated annual event. It may be a reflection of the helplessness we have. Or, it may be the discomfort of the religious challenges that Advent poses.

”Martin Luther King's birthday, who transformed American society and the church, is a federal holiday in the United States. Considering his influence and achievements, it is quite natural. But anti-peace pacifist Vincent Harding, who worked with Martin Luther King, expressed concerns about making his birthday a public holiday.

“It is very dangerous to do the same to Pastor Martin Luther King as we do to Jesus too often. In other words, we put him high on the wall and we leave him there and we go away, we make his birthday a holiday and we use it to enthusiastically buy things or tame him. We make him what we want instead of what he asks of us.”

“Instead of what he asks of us, we make him what we want.” Harding's point strikes us as well. Because we take for granted the faith that does not require unreasonable demands, the hope that does not cause inconvenience, and the love that remains in safety, the coming of Jesus Christ has become so routine, easy, and comfortable time. So, “already” can be replaced with an exclamation of “again?” It is because the coming of Christ became a “light holiday” that lost its weight, despite being a fundamental event for mankind.

However, today's Gospel of Mark asks us to take off that comfortable and easy light ornament. In an age when faith is institutionalized and hope is drawn only within the framework of human beings, we require more expectations. “Be careful and watch!” Being careful doesn't mean you're going to lose yourself in case you get hurt, but it means to prepare. It means to wake up and prepare. It does not mean to hope for the extinction of the world, but to look to and prepare for hope even amid despair. Today's scripture does not speak of despair through the apocalypse, but of absolute hope. What should we prepare for while awake looking at that hope?

There is a seminary founded by Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer under Nazi rule. It is usually called the Finkelwalde Seminary. Its official name was "seminary of the Emergency League at Confessing Church." Emergency education was needed under the Nazis. Hitler tried to nazify the Church. The Nazis forced pastors to be loyal to Hitler. However, his seminary did not compromise Hitler's conjecture. Started with 23 students in 1935, the seminary did not succumb to Nazi pressure, and for that very reason the seminary students became criminals. They were considered state traitors because they mingled with Pastor Bonhoeffer. About 100 pastors were arrested, and in 1937 the seminary was eventually closed. But he didn't give up. The church emphasized that it is a church only when it exists for the other, and that it will take risks for other’s sufferings.

The despair experienced by Pastor Bonhoeffer under the Nazi rule may be incomparable with the present reality of the Korean church. But even in the abyss of despair, he grabbed the string of hope and built a church. Perhaps he was able to do so because he had this vision of discipleship. Explaining his discipleship, he said, "Christians become like Jesus, but they have no purpose but must be Jesus." This expression is too strong and can be misunderstood. We know that following Jesus is not easy enough to be satisfied with just being “like Jesus.” But he says that's not enough. It is said, “You must become Jesus.” What does it mean? It is impossible for us to do anything to become like Jesus. Being Jesus for Bonhoeffer can be possible when you completely empty yourself and that Jesus stays with you.

Why is being "like Jesus" not enough? That's because we are indifferent to being "Jesus" and easily satisfied with being "like Jesus" on the surface. In an era when Korean society is concerned about the Korean church, Bonhoeffer's point is very accurate. This is because the problem of churches and Christians in this era is the faith that wanders around and lingers around Jesus Christ. It is a problem because the goal of faith is set to "similar degree". That's not enough. The goal of our faith is not to empty it roughly so that Jesus can soak only his feet, but it should be emptied thoroughly so that Jesus can fully fill us.

“Already, Advent.” Churches who have not emptied themselves, believers who have not emptied themselves, always experience “already, Advent.” But right there Jesus tells us to stay awake. There is still time before we meet Jesus Christ. Now is the beginning of Advent. Today's message to wake up and prepare urges us to empty ourselves for Jesus Christ to come. Jesus does not want us to have a church similar to the kingdom of God or a faith similar to Jesus Christ. Jesus wants us to empty ourselves, empty our church, so that Christ can stay in us. I pray that all of you will experience the full presence of Jesus Christ by emptying yourselves.

Let us pray for a moment, based on the word proclaimed.

Lord who told us to wake up and prepare,

Awakens my soul,

Let us prepare our heart to meet the Lord.

Let us empty ourselves.

Please empty your heart.

And let us meet Jesus Christ with a prepared heart.

We pray in the name of Jesus who comes to us. Amen.