2nd Sunday before Advent

Readings: Malachi 4v1-2a; Psalm 98; 2 Thessalonians 3v6-13; Luke 21v5-19.

Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.

A Word: The readings remind us that a time is coming when Christ will return to the earth and all things as we know them will change.

In the psalm, we are told that at the end of time God is coming to judge the world. This is the one true God who, from the beginning, has always been merciful and faithful to the whole of humankind. The one true God who has shown the people of the world how they can be saved and delivered from evil. The one true God who is wonderful, and marvellous, and worthy of our praise.

In Malachi, we are warned that on this day, at the end of time, on the day of judgement: everyone who is arrogant and everyone who continues to do evil things will be done away with; but everyone who reveres God’s name, by keeping God’s instructions, will rise in exuberant joy.

In Luke, Jesus tells us about this day of judgement, for it will come when he returns. This will be after a time of wars, natural disasters, famines and plagues. Then on Jesus’ return, we shall all be judged. In preparation for this, Jesus warns us not to be led astray from the good news nor to be afraid of judgement. For everyone who has been treated harshly by others because of their faith will not perish.

However, whilst all those who persevered in times of persecution or were martyred for their faith, all these are safe; in Thessalonians the rest of us receive a warning. This is to be careful whose example of living we copy because not everyone who claims to be one of God’s people are living in line with God’s guidance. This is an important warning for all of us because it reminds us that we need to keep checking out how we are living our lives. Then if we find we are in error, we need to say sorry to God and do our best to comply with God’s guidance. In Paul’s time, he was concerned about people living the way they should by earning their living, by getting on quietly with their mission work and never being weary of doing what is right. These things continue to be important alongside anything else God is calling us to do in our time too.

The Church’s teaching about the return of Jesus is an important part of the Christian faith, because we are forewarned that a day is coming when this earth will be drawn to its close and we will all be judged by our maker, the Lord God of All. I hope and pray that we will all keep on listening to the word of God and then put it into practice as we live out our lives. For we know that when the earth and all that we know comes to its end, we shall face God and be judged. However, we must also remember that because Jesus died to save us from our sins, that we must not be afraid of judgement. For as the scripture tells us, everyone who truly reveres God’s name by living in line with God’s calling, will be invited to rise up in exuberant joy.

Let us Pray: Heavenly Father, gracious Lord, thank you for your Son Jesus, who came to earth to destroy the works of the devil, make us into the children of God and offer us eternal life. Purify our lives here on earth and fill us with hope. Make us into a people more like Jesus and bring us home to your glorious kingdom. Amen

Thanks for joining us today.