“Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.”
And if it’s not the traditional answer, could it be something just as deep and compelling?
As a former fundamentalist, I have always assumed the affirmation meant what it said: that Jesus would return from heaven at the end of time and usher in the Last Judgment. There are ample scriptural references to this event: whole chapters (Matthew 24), even whole books (Revelation), are devoted to this topic.
Or are they?
A closer reading causes me to wonder. From all appearances, the New Testament writers fully expected the return of Christ within their lifetimes.
One small problem: it didn’t happen.
Then you look at the apocalyptic passages in the gospels and realize they could be talking about any era. “You will hear wars and rumors of wars”: happens in every age. “There will be famines and earthquakes in various places”: same thing. In fact, these could be referring to the destruction of the
Now, none of this necessarily means that there won’t be a final return of Jesus and an “end of the age.” Still, when I read scriptural affirmations of such a return—especially when coupled with harrowing accounts of the end times—I hear something distinctly different: a deep, almost unutterable yearning for restoration and healing after a cataclysm. In that sense, the passage echoes the most moving passages from the Old Testament prophets, in which they bewail the destruction and captivity of
In a post-9/11 world, don’t we need this message more than ever? For us in the modern era, “Christ will come again” becomes a stirring message of hope in the restorative love of a God who, all evidence to the contrary, has not abandoned us—and never will.
Yes, “Christ will come again.” Count on it.
4 comments:
Good Lord. I read some of this "inaugural address," folks; I don't think it's relevant to the topic at hand, but I'm leaving it here for now, just to let you know who's out there.
Good Lord, indeed. I went and read a few paragraphs. It was a good decision to let it stand -- we need reminders, though I'm not quite sure of what...
On the 2nd Coming: I've long thought of it in terms of the "Body of Christ" -- that some day that collectivity of the followers of Jesus will actually get it together on a larger scale and become Christ in the world, doing the things that heal the world.
Tikkun olam.
Interesting perspective, Bill. In this view, do you see the "second coming" as a discrete event--or does it more closely describe an ongoing process, by which the church gradually becomes more unified?
One might make the case that we're on the latter course even now, though given the fractious state of the church, I wonder.
I was clearing stuff from my inbox and found your message from Nov. 19, 2007 with the question about "discrete event" or "an ongoing process".
Too bad we've never discussed this during coffee hour. But I do have a response, 15 months after you asked the question.
I rather like the idea of a process -- but with the possibility and hope (in either the secular or theological sense of the word, depending on one's views or temperament) of reaching a tipping point. The tipping point, though, is an event, leading to a new paradigm for humanity.
So it's possible to have it both ways -- process AND event. How nice. I should live so long....
Next time I don't respond to your question here, prod me at church. I get behind on emails. On too many lists.
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