Already... Not Yet... Christian Hope
The first Sunday of Advent - the start of our new liturgical year - can sometimes feel like spiritual whiplash. Webster’s says that Advent, by definition, marks the arrival of a notable person, thing or event… which makes perfect sense as we approach Christmas. But, the spiritual difficulty comes in that there are two, quite different Advents we unite in this season: the already fulfilled arrival of the Christ-child in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, and the not yet fulfilled second-coming of Christ the Divine Ruler at the conclusion of the age.
Last week we celebrated the final Sunday of Pentecost, worshiping Christ… the King over all Creation… who will return in victorious majesty to sit on “the throne of Glory” … where He will "restore all things” and “rescue His (scattered and anxious) people.” Last week… victory, and praise, and Christ’s wondrous, yet-to-come consummation event permeated our worship.
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Absolutely Right
You’ve probably never heard of St. Bernard’s Mission in Greutli-Laager Tennessee. You’ve probably never heard of Greutli-Laager, which is actually including two separate cities, Greutli and Laager, much as we might refer to Minneapolis-St. Paul, except as far as I know Minneapolis-St. Paul doesn’t share just one convenience store between them, which I believe is in Greutli so you can’t actually buy a laager in Laager.
But that’s not the point of the story.
St. Bernard’s had a very unique pattern of worship. Their congregation of about 20 was famous in the region because everyone sat on the right-hand side of the church. Only visitors sat on the left. No one really knew why or when it happened, it just did - a quirky little tradition. Everybody was on the right. We tend to sit where we sit, don’t we. I know I do.
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Investment returns
Today’s parable teaching about the Kingdom of God is rooted in economics. Economy is an interesting word. It comes from the Greek word oikonomia. Oikos means house. Oikonomia is the management of the household. That means someone somehow is generating income and providing for the needs of the entire household including the servants if there are any. It includes the cooking, cleaning, laundry and general care for the land, buildings, people, livestock and pets.
In other words, it encompasses the fullness of everything involved with living together. We cannot control everything, but we are to manage our households as best we can, whatever our circumstances.
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