They will see the Son of Man coming (Lk 21:27)
1st of Sunday of Advent – Year C
One of the advent hymns that I like most is:
We long to see thee so!
To see Thee newly-born.
We long for Christmas morn.
The sands of time run slow.
I like this hymn because it arouses in me the nostalgia for homecoming, or actually going back home. As a young boy studying in boarding school this song reminded me of the joyful time of going back home for Christmas. I remember how the sands of time ran so slow, especially just before Christmas. In the past years, especially as a priest being busy during Christmas, and as I unwrap the celebration of Christmas of its nostalgic feelings I have also begun to appreciate its spiritual depth. I am not in anyway playing down the importance of the sentimental aspects of Christmas – they are necessary for our human-social-familial life. In fact, we have a reason to celebrate because of the very spiritual depth of Christmas. For at Christmas we celebrate the “Coming of Jesus”.
Right from the 4th Century Christians have had this special time of preparation towards Christmas, and they called it, adventus. In Latin, it simply means, ‘coming’. Like the season of Lent (before Easter) traditionally this season also was observed as a time of fasting and prayer (before Christmas). That is why, much like the season of Lent, you can see the priest wearing violet during liturgical celebrations, and in some part of the world even weddings are not officiated in church during this season.
Even as we begin the material preparations for the social celebration of Christmas, the liturgical celebrations of the coming weeks invite us to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus. We hear this statement in the Gospel of today: “They will see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Lk 21:27). We know that the expression, ‘son of man’ refers to Jesus Christ. But what does coming of Christ Jesus mean?
Three-fold Coming of Christ
I think, the coming of Christ can be understood in three ways – so to say, with three tense markers: in the past tense, in the present tense and in the future – Jesus came; Jesus comes; and Christ will come.
The 1st coming of Jesus is plain enough. It refers to the historical coming of the 2nd person of the Trinity, 2000 years ago, as the Jesus of Nazareth. We call this, the mystery of incarnation. The 2nd coming of Christ is something that we hopefully await. There will be the future coming of Christ in glory at the end of times. This is more difficult to understand. But it is one of the core beliefs of Christianity. It is strongly alluded to in the New Testament. The prayers in the Eucharistic celebration constantly remind us of both these comings. In the Creed that we will profess after this homily we will assert once again our faith in these two comings of Christ.
But there is the 3rd of coming of Jesus. The coming of Jesus is not just a dead past in memory, nor is it a mere imagination of the future. But by the power of the Spirit of the Risen Lord, the coming of Jesus continues to be enacted even today. Jesus comes in our midst as the Word is proclaimed, and as the Sacraments are celebrated. While this coming is visible in all the sacraments of the church, it is even more powerfully tangible in the Eucharist. This threefold coming of Christ is brought out very meaningfully in one of the sets of the penitential invocations – that we use during ‘Kyrie Eleison’ or ‘Lord have mercy’ :
Lord Jesus, you came to gather the nations into the peace of God’s Kingdom.
You come in word and sacrament to strengthen us in holiness.
You will come in glory with salvation for your people.
The Three-fold meaning of Christmas
The solemnity of Christmas that we now look forward to is a feast that commemorates all the three comings of Christ.
For sure, it recalls the historical birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Though the exact date of the birth of Jesus is not known, this feast was adopted by the early Christians from the Roman feast of the Sun god, to celebrate the birth of the Light of the World. The readings of the liturgy of the Christmas eve will remind us of this: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined” (Is 9:2). In the first reading of today, the first coming of Jesus is foretold by the prophet Jeremiah. He builds certain expectation among the people about the coming of the messiah who will be the son of David: “Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shall fulfil the promise of happiness I made to the House of Israel and the House of Judah (Jer 33:14).
We should also remember that the run-up to Christmas offers us yet another opportunity to reflect about the 2nd coming of Christ. Earlier I said that the word ‘advent’ in English comes from the Latin, ‘adventus’ which means, ‘coming’. Now the Greek word for ‘adventus’ is ‘Parousia’. And parousia is often used to refer to the 2nd coming of Christ. The gospel text of today once again reminds us of the parousia: “And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Lk 21:28). The 2nd reading of today from the letter of St Paul to Thessalonians tells us how we must prepare ourselves for the second coming of Jesus, just by being open to the Grace of God. It says, “And may he so confirm your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless in the sight of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (1The 3:13). When the 1st letter to the Thessalonians was being written (around 50 AD), most of the apostles were still alive, and the Christians believed that Christ would come again in their own life time. Therefore, this letter has a strong sense of the immediacy of parousia – the 2nd coming of Christ. However, I think, the 1st letter to the Thessalonians should not be read without reference to the 2nd letter to the Thessalonians. The latter letter becomes more realistic about the 2nd coming of Christ, and invites us to “go on quietly working and earning the food that [we] eat”… and never become tired of doing what is right (2The 3:12), and that Christ will come in his own time. As for coming he will surely come (2The 2:1-8).
As we hopefully wait for his second coming we are supported by the Word of God and the Sacraments. Yes, Jesus comes. Now. This, we can call the third coming of Jesus. Tangible. Real. Experiential. Jesus comes in the Word and Sacrament to strengthen us in holiness, as we wait for the parousia (1The 3:13). And to me, this is the most important aspect to celebrate. During Christmas, and even today. May this season of Advent offer us yet another opportunity to appreciate the Jesus who comes. Let us take the time to contemplate on this. Let us prepare ourselves – even through the sacrament of reconciliation – to recognise Jesus who comes.