And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birthpangs.
Matthew 24:6-8
Advent – Day 14
Saturday, December 16
Haggai 2:1–9
Revelation 3:1–6
Matthew 24:1–14
The daily readings are from the two-year daily lectionary as listed in the Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 933.
The Sunday readings are from the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B.
It’s pretty difficult these days to not be even a little preoccupied with all the conflict going on in the world.
I mentioned earlier this week that I try to listen to as little news as possible; but with two major wars going on in Ukraine and Israel-Gaza, it’s hard to ignore.
Our country is divided over how much financial support to give to these two struggles, and in the back of our minds, the lurking thought looms that it’s only a matter of time before we are drawn into the battles in more direct ways.
Our involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq is still fresh in our memories. Those of us who are older still remember Viet Nam and its aftermath.
If you go on to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) website, you will learn that there are 110 MILLION forcibly displaced people worldwide!
To put it in perspective, that number equals one-third of the population of the United States.
These displacements are the result of all the things Jesus mentions in the Gospel reading assigned for this day, wars, famines, earthquakes, and all other types of disasters.
As an aside, a line jumped out at me from the Old Testament reading from Haggai:
For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come…
Haggai 2:6-7
This is one of the scripture references for a musical piece in Handel’s Messiah.
But more importantly, the passage can be read as an announcement that, in the midst of all this doom and gloom, Jesus will come.
But before that, if you thought things couldn’t get any worse, guess what? They will!
What, then, becomes of our faith?
More importantly, what, then, becomes of us?
Jesus doesn’t mince words. He doesn’t minimize the reality or the reasons that we might be afraid. His warnings are rather bleak and disturbing.
But here’s the good news, which, if you’ve read this far, you’ve been hoping to find in this meditation.
Well, here it is!
Notice that Jesus compares all this despair and disaster to birth pangs.
Anyone who has ever been in a hospital maternity delivery room, whether as the mother-to-be, or a spectator, can relate to the excruciating labor pains that come just before the joy of a birth.
Neither the pain, nor the painful moments can be avoided. But the thrill of the child that is born makes it all worthwhile.
“I am with you, says the Lord of hosts,” the prophet Haggai tells the Israelites returning from exile.
“…the one who endures to the end will be saved,” Jesus tells his disciples.
Our reaction to the reality of this world is one of confidence that this world cannot shake our foundations, which is the presence of God with us and within us.
Through our words and our actions, we are called to bear witness to his presence, his peace, and his love.
When we allow God’s love to work within us we are not letting ourselves be controlled by the circumstances that face us.
We witness, individually and in community, as we are bound up in the mission of Christ.
Let us pray:
Almighty God our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they may become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.*
*Source: Book of Common Prayer, p. 816
Walking Together in Faith 