Apocalyptic hope is based on some assumptions. People are divided between two loyalities, either to the Kingdom of God or the other kingdom. The other kingdom is about the human desire for its own gratification (our "natural" state since the fall). Self gratification can be as base as pure pleasure found in food, drink, intoxicants, sexuality, etc. Such pleasures usually have a limited success and abuse has immediate repurcussions. One twinky good, two better, twenty-three--well you know. Same with intoxicants, a little give you a pleasant buzz but it is a short trip from feeling the high to overdosing and severe physical reactions. Doing things because "I want to" or "I think it would be enjoyable" is always a two edged sword.
In "the other kingdom" where fulfilling "my desires" is king, a person is ruled by "my hungers and desires." In such a state, people can and do choose all manner of bad things because it seems like it would be something that they want to do. And this opens one up to the dangerous forces at work around us. If "my pleasure" has traditionally been called "the Flesh" the other two forces have long been called "the World" and "the Devil." This encompasses the physical environment and the spiritual environment in which we abide. Because humans, even the best and brightest of us, are susceptible to being misled, the subtle forces of the world (called peer pressure, or pressure to conform, or societal 'values') and the more sinister actions of the demonic (whether understood impersonally or personally) do impact our freedom to think and choose. All of us are victims as well as perpetrators.
Jesus came to set us free from the negative, even bestial forces at work around us and within us. These forces (personal and impersonal) lead us to evil, sin, dis-integration and death. Death may be as total as the end of life and damnation or the truncated life of a person without the faculties they need for a whole, holy and happy life. But the freedom Jesus offers is not complete, YET. In other words, we continue to struggle. We wrestle with temptation, doubt and fear and with our own infidelities and sins. The promised peace of the 30-second religious commercial sometimes lasts little longer than the commercial itself. "No Jesus, No Peace...Know Jesus, Know Peace" is a terrific marketing slogan. Terrific but not totally accurate. Many people have known Jesus and continued to struggle, daily, to find peace.
Apocalyptic makes sense of that. Peace, in apocalyptic, is future tense. It is coming and it is going to happen but first is the time of trial, the period where steadfastness and courage are the needed virtues. We are in that time. Apocalyptic uses images of beasts and monsters and fanstatic images to capture the sheer horror. The horror which, in more mundane expression, is communicated to us with statistics and body counts and discussions about mental illness and social deviancy and public violence.
Confronted with such evil (in ourselves and in others) we learn that "the flesh, the world, the devil" is a pretty accurate and all encompassing assessment of the situation. And we know that our only way out is something above and beyond these three. And that is where Jesus II comes in. What we call "the return of the Lord" is, in apocalyptic terms, the final summation and consumation and hope and dream. We long to see Jesus (if not directly then indirectly: we long to see peace, love, kindness, etc. the fruits of His Kingdom rule). That desire is bigger and better than anything we have found or could find here. In fact, in apocalyptic, all desire is for God, but most desires are mis-shapen and twisted and foul the perfect. This is why the demonic is expressed in similar terms to the divine. It is an evil parody of God and His Goodness.
When my daughter was a little girl (4 or 5) she came to me in a state of aggitation. "I want to see God" she stammered, impatient and desperately sincere. "I want to see God, eye balls, not bread." For those familiar with traditional worship, it is eucharist centered. We say "the Body of Christ" and receive a piece of bread. My preschooler was clearly not satisfied with the sacramental presence. She wanted to see a face, as human and as really present as my own. She wanted to look into the eyes of God and be seen in return. She has become reconciled to living into God's rules, in His time. I only hope the hunger and desire have not abated.
Around the world, people are chirping about Friday. Will the world end? Did the Father reveal to Mayans what He kept hidden from His own Son (Who declared He did not know when the End will come)? My guess is not. I have written a Christmas sermon (two actually) and am well into my sermon for the Sunday after Christmas. I am obviously planning to be around long after this Friday....
But the good thing about this speculation is it is a reminder, I want to see Jesus: eye balls, not bread. I want His kingdom to come, His will to be done. I want no more tears. No more tragedies. No more little children shot, wars, famine, disease... No more... I want it to be on earth like it is in heaven. And that means walking away from me and all powers that would stand in God's place. That means repentance and a new life. It means preaching to others, yes, but more so to myself. I have to change. I have to change...
Many are pretenders to the throne and all of them false. Some display their evil more quickly and obviously than others. The shooter, the thief, the bad governor.. Others are longer acting and take longer to be unveiled as false messiahs; unveiling always happens eventually. In the end, we have a hunger and desire which only the Kingdom can fill. And the consolation of that unfulfilled desire is the recognition that the desire itself points beyond, to a pristine and holy Source. It is God's fingerprint on our soul. Some day we will see those Eye Balls, perfect and divine, and "the world, the flesh, and the devil" will hold sway no longer. Once the Real comes the unreal imitation will, to steal an image of apocalyptic, "dissolve in fire." And all will be well, and all will be well, in every manner of things all will be well.
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