It’s a Mad World / A Video and Sermon Helps for Advent 01

Last updated on: November 29, 2012 at 8:47 am by Tim Suttle

It’s a Mad World / A Video and Sermon Helps for Advent 01 2012-11-29T08:47:00-07:00 Tim Suttle

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Advent season is arriving, which means that many of us who do not follow the lectionary in ordinary time begin to sync back up with it. Each week I’m going to try to put together a few thoughts to help provoke those pastors, students, and theological nerds (meant to be a term of endearment), as they consider the text for this week. The first text comes from Luke 21-25-36

Video/Art:
I love the idea of showing the above video, then reading the text. I think it would make for a provocative opening to a sermon. I would probably cut the video at 1:52, right before the commercial at the end, just to leave it more open to personal interpretation.

Mining for Tension:
When we leave the prophetic passages to what one of my seminary professors called “the charts and graphs folks,” – meaning those who are sure that the prophetic office is about reading the tea leaves, predicting the future, and warning of the end times – we lose the rich tradition of prophetic literature in the Bible. If the first line of the website is “Bible Prophecy,” then we all know what kind of church it is, and many of us will be unlikely to play along. Yet for many of us the pendulum has swung too far the other way. Here’s another article that might help describe the role of the prophetic office.

If this text doesn’t bother you, it should. Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.” It’s natural to look at this text and be troubled by it. The plain sense of the text seems to be contradicted by history. The natural tendency is to simply not deal with it. When I looked at the lectionary for this week my first thought was to see what was happening in the Old Testament passage or the epistles. I didn’t want a piece of this gospel text. Pastors need to dig into these troubling passages, learn all we can, and give a rich nuanced reading of the text that doesn’t shy away from the obvious issues.

Insights & Understandings:
V. 25-28; When is there not distress? Name an epoch which was distress free. It can’t be done. When are people not fainting from predictions of calamity? Is there a time when there were no prophets of doom and gloom? When are the heavens not shaken with the cataclysmic explosions of a billion burning suns? These are always the case, as they were when the writer of Luke penned these words. So what do we do? Heed the instructions: we stand up, lift up our heads, and look to the redemption which is drawing near.”

V. 29-33; The fig tree is typically a symbol for Israel. V. 32 is likely a reference to the sacking of Jerusalem which had either just happened, or was about to when Luke’s gospel was written. In that sense the generation did not pass away before Jerusalem was “judged” by God and Israel scattered.

“This generation,” could mean Israel, the wicked, all of humankind, or something else. The prophets always speak with the voice of expectation. It’s likely that the prophets, Jesus, and Luke expected the end of all things to come before their own generation passed. Still the fact that history continues has never invalidated the words of the prophets, and it doesn’t invalidate Jesus here. The warning of judgment on the wicked, or assurance of redemption for those who are faithful is the central idea of the text. Why? Because it is a mad world.

V. 34-36; It’s a mad world, and every life comes to an end. The ungodly resolve to make the most of every moment with out reference to their neighbor, or to the common good. They live for the moment; they live for themselves. In our day this is typically done in the name of freedom, personal rights, and enlightened thinking. The obvious problem is that this kind of life has a sense of meaninglessness. It lacks a sense of transcendent purpose. On the other hand, the Godly resolve to make the most of every moment not in order to please themselves, but to please their Father in heaven and to live in Jesus’s name. The Godly resolve to love their neighbor and seek the common good in the name of Jesus. This kind of life has a profound meaning, discernable both to the person living this life, and to the community at large. It is not only how we experience a rich, deep, full, abundant life, but it is also how we bear witness to the ultimate lordship of Jesus.

The point of the passage isn’t to read the tea leaves and predict the date of the second coming. That misses the point entirely. The point of the passage has much more to do with the way that we live our lives right now. “Stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near…Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life… Watch and pray,” this is the life of the disciple. Do this “that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man,” when your life, when all of life, finds its culmination in God. Do this and your lives will bear witness that the kingdom of God is a kingdom of love, a kingdom of joy, a kingdom of peace, and a kingdom of hope.

Previous Post

November 28, 2012

What's Your Story? My Top 5 Favorite Memoirs & Why do We Love Memoirs So Much?

Next Post

November 29, 2012 Hipster Thanksgiving (You're Welcoming... A Friday Funny - Early Edition)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion corruption Donald Trump elections Empire Entertainment Ezra Klein ideology Justice Lacan politics race Sports Ta-Nehisi Coates Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 March 2026 September 2025 March 2025 June 2024 January 2024 December 2023 May 2023 February 2023 October 2022 April 2022 March 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 September 2020 July 2020 June 2020 March 2020 September 2019 July 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 August 2010 July 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What worldwide Christian youth movement was started by Robert Baden-Powell with a focus on outdoor activities and morality?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Young Life Boy Scouts Wesley Guild Sisters of Charity