Dec. 15 | Advent 3, Year C
Zeph. 3:14-20
Cant. 9
Phil. 4:4-7
Luke 3:7-18
There is no better place to observe the majesty of nature than from a place with an unrestricted horizon. Sitting on the beach and looking out over the ocean reminds us that we are not the center of the universe — even if we live as if we are the center of our lives. Other than watching the various ocean vessels, shrimp boats, airplanes, birds, and dolphins, we can plot the direction and track of the clouds. Some clouds appear on the horizon and then disappear. Other clouds are spread thin by the winds and give texture to the sky. Still others begin as tiny specks on the horizon and then grow into dark and angry storms.
These developments are visible to everyone, but wise beach-walkers keep their eyes on the sky. When clouds begin to build, they can anticipate that change is in the wind. The feeling of urgency and anxiety increases with the clouds as the storm grows and approaches the area of the beach on which they stand. Prudence dictates that they take heed of the danger and find safe shelter.
Alternatively, if we watch the same scenario through the window of our beachfront condo, we will observe the same things and share the same feeling of awe as the storm approaches. What will be different, however, is the absence of a feeling of fear and danger when a storm is witnessed from the protection of a secure dwelling. The event is the same, but the experience is different because of our circumstances. In both cases, the observer anticipates the storm, but in the case of the beach-walker it is a source of a healthy fear, while the condo-dweller is free to experience the beauty and power of nature.
In Advent, we watch the gathering clouds on the horizon. Something is coming. As John announced, Someone is coming. The Son has come into the world — onto our beach — but the clouds are still gathering on the horizon. So we, as the Church, are to watch and wait because there is something more to come. The future holds something more than the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As the shadow of the cross is cast across the crèche, and the empty grave yawns beyond the cross, the Second Coming appears as a small cloud in the sunny skies of Easter morning.
In this life all of us fall into one of three groups. The first is that subpopulation of people who ignore all that is going on around them. They continue to swim, play, and read, totally self-absorbed in their activities until they are suddenly whipped by the wind and soaked by the rain, or endangered by lightning. The beach-walkers represent the second category. They watch and worry, but will execute their plan for escape as best they can when, and if, the storm hits. The third group is populated by the condo-dwellers — those who experience the storm from the vantage point of a secure dwelling.
The Word of God through the prophet Zephaniah is for all of us in the Church — the blissfully unaware, the fearfully ill-prepared, and the faithfully secure. The silver lining in the storm clouds of the Last Day is the Lord’s salvation. With the consummation of the kingdom at Jesus’ return, those who have made their dwelling place with God through faith will realize his promise of eternal life.
Those who ignore the clouds on the horizon due to their self-absorption, and those who attempt to experience the storm relying on their own power, will never see the silver lining in the storm clouds. Only those who watch the storm from the secure vantage point of their faith in God will experience the fulfilment of God’s promise — a life lived in the presence of the light of the eternal Son.
Look It Up
1 John 4:15-17
Think About It
What role does the return of Jesus play in your life?
The Rev. Dr. Chuck Alley, former rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, teaches anatomy at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School.