Avoiding a Repeat Performance
By Thomas Cross, thomas.cross@broomfieldumc.org
“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” -- 2 Peter 3:9
Ben Kareer posed this interesting question: The only discussion topic I have would be around preventing the past from reoccurring again. Specifically, as we prepare for Easter what do the Gospels, New Testament, etc. encourage us to do so we are not in situation where someone has to sacrifice themselves for our sins again?
This topic has been explored in literature over the centuries, from Dostoyevsky’s story, The Grand Inquisitor, to Joseph Girzone’s novel, Joshua. These stories push us to consider how Jesus would be received if he returned to the earth in our time. How would I receive Jesus is He showed up today? Would I welcome Him?
A related question is this: In what guise will Jesus appear when He returns to the earth? Will He come to us with a sword, ready to do battle with the forces of evil? Many Christians say “yes,” and recent popular literature reflects this expectation. The Left Behind series concludes with a cosmic battle directed by a warrior Christ. Hal Lindsey made the same type of predictions in The Late Great Planet Earth. Certainly there is one strain of New Testament thought that supports this picture of Christ returning as a Davidic warrior who defeats evil forces and restores justice by force. As William Barclay explains in his commentaries on 1-2 Peter and 1 Thessalonians, this image reflects the association that the apostles made of Christ’s return with the Jewish concept of the “Day of the Lord,” the terrible day that precedes God’s restoration of the earth.
However there is another strand of New Testament thought that suggests Jesus will wait to return until the inhabitants of earth are ready to welcome Him home. Peter expresses this conviction succinctly in 2 Peter 3:9. Peter’s hunch is that Jesus is waiting until all people are ready to receive Him in a spirit of repentance (humility toward God and a willingness to embrace a new way of thinking). In this understanding, Jesus will return in his normal mode of operation, as a Servant, who will lead all humans to complete his work voluntarily – not by force. This approach recalls Jesus’ admonition to the apostles: “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant…” (Mark 10:42-43).
What are our responsibilities as disciples in preparing for Jesus’ return in this model?
1) Practice repentance on an ongoing basis (Romans 12:1-3);
2) Prepare the earth for the return of Christ by teaching and practicing justice and mercy;
3) Do so using the rules of love and service that Jesus taught (Mark 10:43, 12:20-31).
In other words, prepare the way for Jesus’ rule without the use of coercion and force. Our imperative is the same as John the Baptist taught before the first appearance of Jesus (Luke 3:3-14). As John said, “Therefore bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance.”
This less familiar, less violent picture of Jesus’ return was embraced in the 19th century by American thinkers and artists who resonated with Isaiah’s imagery of “The Peaceable Kingdom.” The biblical support for such a view comes from the New Testament authors’ repeated quotation of one verse from the Psalms. Psalm 110:1 is the verse from the Hebrew Bible that is most often cited in the New Testament: “Yahweh says to Adown [my Lord], ‘Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.’” This verse is quoted in full five different times in the New Testament, including the three synoptic gospels, Luke and Acts. It is referenced in some form nine more times in Matthew and the epistles, most often in connection with the ascension of Jesus.
Jesus and the apostles embraced this verse as a description of the post-ascension era, when Jesus is be seated at God’s right hand while God’s people were preparing the earth for his return. God gives his people the instruction: “Rule in the midst of Thine enemies” (Psalm 110:2), and “Thy people will volunteer freely in the day of Thy power” (vs. 3). While Psalm 110 employs militaristic images, the apostles adopted the Psalm’s mission without resorting to force or violence. Instead the early Christian movement became pacifistic, believing that God’s power would be released through healing love. Indeed it was. Unfortunately the church later became enamored with the use of force, culminating with the saddest chapter of all, the Spanish Inquisition.
In modern history, two Wesleyan groups adopted the language and mission of Psalm 110, adopting a military form of organization while practicing loving service consistently. You know those groups as the Salvation Army and the Volunteers of America. Their members agree with and practice the basic responsibilities outlined above: Practice repentance on an ongoing basis; prepare the earth for the return of Christ by teaching and practicing justice and mercy; and do so using the rules of love and service Jesus taught.
Obviously Jesus can return to the earth at any time – and in any form – that God deems best. But the story need not end badly for anyone if the people of earth will receive the good news Jesus preached and practice the principles Jesus taught. It is up to his disciples to spread the good news and model the Way of Love. If God is as patient as Peter describes, the church’s reliance upon coercion and violence has only delayed Jesus’ return. We are called to a different, higher Way than the powers of the world.
It is fitting to close as we opened, with the words of Peter: “Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time” (Acts 3:19-21). Heaven waits for us to restore the earth through the disarming ministries of repentance, service, and love.
Originally posted on the BUMC Blog March 1, 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment