For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we our-selves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. (Romans 8:20-24a)
The Advent season, which begins today, is a season of both lament and anticipation. It is a season of waiting. We reflect on the coming of Christ. Or, rather, I should say the comings of Christ. The Gospel speaks of two comings. The first happened 2000 years ago when Jesus came as a baby born in a manger in Roman-occupied Israel. The second is a promised one we still wait for. Thus, Advent has a double meaning. In Advent, we focus on that first coming, reflecting on how those living before and during that time were to prepare for that coming. Yet in another sense we also live in the second Advent, awaiting Christ’s return. And we are also called to reflect on and prepare for that second coming. Today, I want to focus on the importance of the promised second coming when He re-turns to usher in a new Heavenly kingdom. A fundamental promise of the Christian gospel is a resurrected body. That’s one of the reasons the historical resurrection of Jesus is such an important doctrine. C. S. Lewis noted in his book Miracles: “The earliest Christian documents give a casual and unemphatic assent to the belief that the supernatural part of a man survives the death of the natural organism. But they are very little interested in the matter. What they are intensely interested in is the restoration or ‘resurrection’ of the whole composite creature by a miraculous divine act.” What Lewis is pointing out is that this promised eternal life is not one of a disembodied soul, but one to be enjoyed with a resurrected body. We see this in resurrection promises and images of Heaven throughout the New Testament. It can be seen clearly in Paul’s letter to the Romans in the passage above in which he writes that believers “wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies” [emphasis added]. What we wait eagerly for in this second Advent is the bodily resurrection. This hope, Paul concludes, is central to our salvation. With that in mind, I want to end with a note of reflection as we enter the official season of Advent, and as we continue to live in the second Advent. The Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13) includes the petition, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” “Your kingdom come” has an element of that Advent expectation, doesn’t it? It invites us to reflect on the coming Kingdom of heaven. With Paul, we lament the decay of our bodies and the groaning of creation: the bondage to decay is the result of human sin. And yet, as Paul reminded the Roman church, we take hope in the promise of liberation from bondage as we look forward to that coming Kingdom. And when we pray, “Your will be done,” we ought also to reflect on the principles and characteristics of God’s kingdom. Such a prayer – asking God to accomplish His will on earth as it is done in heaven – is empty if we aren’t willing to seek that will and live it. Paul teaches us is that God cares for us as bodily creatures; His plan is to undo the dam-age that sin does to our bodies. If we truly desire to see some reflection of God’s heavenly Kingdom on earth, then we ought to be caring for the bodily needs of our fellow humans: the hunger, suffering, pain, disease, hardship, war and violence that result from sin. Creation, as Paul tells us, has been subjected to frustration because of sin. Our efforts will either diminish some of that sin-induced frustration in the little corners of the world where God has placed us, or add to the frustration and decay. May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving week! Comments are closed.
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