The Second Sunday of Advent: Waiting on the Eternal Word

A Sermon by Bishop Joseph Boyd (Ancient Church of the West), December 6th, 2020

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent, a Sunday in between, where we sink into the reality of our journey through time into the Last Day. It is also St. Nicholas Day, when we celebrate the life and testimony of St. Nicholas of Myra, who was both a kind bishop and a valiant hero against heresy and apostasy. Today, our Scripture readings give us a rich contrapuntal contrast as we reflect on the full revelation of Jesus Christ, both in His Incarnation and in His final return. We see in these readings that the prerequisite for truly witnessing to the coming Kingdom is mutual love and communion through the maintenance of right worship and true doctrine. 

The Scripture Readings: 

The Epistle - Romans 15:4-13 

“WHATSOEVER things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (mirroring 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…”) 

“Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 

“that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

“Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. 

“Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; 

“As it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. (2 Samuel 22:50 “Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.”) 

“And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. (Deuteronomy 32:43 “Rejoice, O heavens, with Him, and let all God's angels worship Him. Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His children. He will take vengeance on His adversaries and repay those who hate Him; He will cleanse His land and His people.”) 

“And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. (Psalm 117:1 “Praise the LORD, all you nations! Extol Him, all you peoples!”) 

“And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. (Isaiah 11:10 “On that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.”) 

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” 

Commentary 

The unity of mind we see in verse 6 is called “auto phronein en allelois” (a self-same opinion in one another). This is different than the word “Iso-psycho” used in Philippians 2:20, where Paul complains that no one has the same mind as himself. The reason for unity is the proper worship of God, or our “ortha doxa”, giving full glory to God. Nothing detracts from God’s glory in the Church more than strife, schism and mutual alienation, and so we must be in unity with our brothers before we can function correctly. This is what Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:23-24, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” The word, “homothymadon” (Oμοθυμαδὸν), used in every other place in Scripture for “one-mindedness”, is translated as “one accord” in the King James Bible, and it shows a harmony of intention that is used 11 times in Scripture to speak of Apostolic unity in the Church and the single-hearted declaration of the Gospel. 

In verse 7, St. Paul tells us to “receive” each other as Christ received us. This word is “proslambanesthe” (προσλαμβάνεσθε) and is a word that means to accept something like a gift. It is used only twice in Scripture, both in the Book of Romans. In Romans 14:1 it means the acceptance of weaker brothers, and it is used as an exhortation against shunning those who need to continue their growth in the Lord. Here in verse 7, it means that we are accept one another through Christ’s acceptance of us - “Διὸ προσλαμβάνεσθε ἀλλήλους καθὼς”. This unity of right worship in the goal of this acceptance, showing that a unity in right teaching can only be accomplished by mutual love and reception, not serving or pleasing ourselves or others, but as Christ selflessly accepted us and died for us, we must reflect His love in the reception of other believers. St. Paul then goes on to show how this principle works between the Jews and the Gentiles by quoting many portions of the Old Testament where we see that God gave the Covenant to the Hebrews so that they could bless the world. It was never for themselves, but always for others. 

The Gospel - St. Luke 21:25-33 (Parallel with Matthew 24 and Mark 13) 

The Olivet Discourse is the last of the Five Discourses of Matthew and occurs just before the narrative of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross beginning with His anointing by a weeping woman. It consists of three parts: 1) The Prophecy of the Destruction of the Temple, 2) The Great Tribulation, and 3) The Coming of the Son of Man. This discourse is a biblical narrative found in the Gospels of Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13, and Luke 21. It is known as the "Little Apocalypse” because it includes the use of prophetic warnings and colorful prose, akin to the apocalyptic style that was popular during Second Temple Judaism. This sums up Christ's warning to his blessed disciples that they will suffer tribulation and persecution before the ultimate triumph of the Kingdom of God. 

It reads… 

“AND there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 

(Daniel 7:13-14 “In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”) 

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. 

“And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away." 

Commentary 

The Parable of the Budding Fig is used by Jesus in a way different than in his Parable of the Fig Tree in Luke 13, which warns Christians against investing in things that appear Christian but ultimately bear no fruit; or the Cursing of the Fig Tree in Mark 11:12-25, which (like John 15:1-6) shows that a refusal to bear fruit reveals a disconnection from the true source of life and impending doom; here the fig doesn’t represent individuals who refuse to bear fruit, but of the signs of the times, which show us the coming of the Kingdom of God. These signs are again mentioned in the beginning of this passage of Scripture. 

St. John Chrysostom says in his commentaries, “After this, that they might not straightway return to it again, and say, “When?” he brings to their remembrance the things that had been said, saying, “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled!” All these things. What things? I pray thee. Those about Jerusalem, those about the wars, about the famines, about the pestilences, about the earthquakes, about the false Christs, about the false prophets, about the sowing of the gospel everywhere, the seditions, the tumults, all the other things, which He said were to occur until His coming. How then, one may ask, did He say, “This generation?” Speaking not of the generation then living, but of that of the believers. For He is wont to distinguish a generation not by times only, but also by the mode of religious service, and practice; as when He saith, “This is the generation of them that seek the Lord. ” 

As the Anglican Bishop NT Wright wrote in his book “Jesus and the Victory of God” - "Already present in Jesus' ministry, and climactically inaugurated in his death and resurrection, the divine kingdom will be manifest within a generation, when Jesus and his followers are vindicated in and through the destruction of Jerusalem.” 

Summary 

Our waiting reflects eternity’s timeless reality. Just like the fig tree’s bud, the signs are already present and Christ has already realized His Kingdom in our hearts, but He is coming. He will return. We must expect the Second Coming and prepare for the Last Judgement. In anticipating this ultimate reality, this divine truth, of the imminent Return of Jesus Christ, we fulfill God’s will for us, and we manifest the Kingdom of God in our midst. The result of our unity for the right worship of God is joy and peace, abounding with hope, and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is why, as our Epistle reading exhorts, we must strive to love one another and maintain our communion, even in the midst of persecutions and difficulties. In doing this, we manifest the Kingdom in our Communion, and anticipate the coming of our Lord together! We wait upon the Eternal Word!