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wings
The King is coming,
The Savior is active
How do you talk about eventuality to a society that seeks and expects instant gratification? How do you speak about patience to an age that is so impatient? The task is so difficult and daunting that many of us either don't address the issue that will only be worked out over time – or we give in to the temptation to offer quick fixes.
Both celebrations of Christ the King Sunday and Advent speak to the need for patience. This is a tune that would have been well received in days gone by, but today is heard as a hollow sound, as evidence that one is unwilling to do what needs to be done quickly, or as a strong indicator of weakness. In the celebration of Christ the King Sunday, we shout "hallelujah" and claim victory as the final outcome of the course of human history. We are telling ourselves and others that in the end Jesus shall be crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords - not just in our hearts, but in all affairs of this world and, yes, this universe.
Advent invites us to believe that God has not given up on us or humanity. Advent celebrates that God is aware of our direction and the consequences of our decisions - and will intervene and provide us with the means to be transformed and to transform this world. Advent says that God is breaking into this world and that God is the only true power in this world. And yet, both Christ the King and Advent elicit from us patience. They both declare what I call a "someday faith": a not-yet-happening but a hold-on-I'm-coming faith.
There was a time when just the announcement of God's eventual victory was enough, but many today are no longer able or willing to wait on God to accomplish victory in his time. I believe this is because we have not learned to see signs leading us to a God who acts and intervenes in the affairs of the world - but not always as quickly as we would want.
I saw those signs in a church that, despite zero percent growth in its community, reported a 22 percent growth in membership. I saw it in an old-fashioned camp meeting that set attendance records this summer. I saw it in a suburban church that is partnering with others to reach out to an inner-city community. I saw it in the face of a pastor who was struggling with the call to ministry. I heard it in shouts of church members as they celebrated God's movement in their midst.
Look around. The signs are everywhere. The King is not only coming, but the Savior is active.
In closing, I offer you this poem by that famous writer, "Anonymous":
"Not now, but in the coming years, it may be in the Better Land,
We'll read the meaning of our tears and there, sometime, we'll understand.
We'll catch the broken threads again and finish what we here began;
Heaven will then the mysteries explain and then, ah then, we'll understand.
Then, trust in God through all thy days fear not, for he doth hold thy hand;
Though dark the way, still sing and praise, sometime, sometime we'll understand."
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Bishop James Swanson
Resident Bishop
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