Monday after Advent 3 - a world that is in big trouble

Creator God, who transforms chaos, give us the wits to trust you amid the growing disorder of our world.  In the name, Amen.

Psalm 41

Zechariah 1:7-17

Revelation 3:7-13

Matthew 24: 15-31

These readings utilize extreme rhetoric to portray a world that is in big trouble.  This apocalyptic rhetoric imagines that the present "world," that is, the present sociopolitial economy, can no longer be sustained.  It is not possible or responsible to take this biblical imagery (or any part of the Bible) and apply it directly to our own circumstance or context.  We may, however, permit this wild imagery to give us access to the reality that our own present sociopolitical economy cannot be sustained much longer in its present form.  This is evident in the environmental crisis, the economic displacement of great numbers of people, and the violence of war that produces displaced persons beyond count.  This imagery offers us a way to see our context fully and honestly, without any false assurance from comfortable ideology.

It is precisely in such a context, however, that these readings assert that the coming rule of God will bring a new order of well-being.  The news is that the present acute disorder has not outflanked or superseded the rule of Tod.  God will rule in and through and beyond the chaos.

Given that assurance, these readings are a summons to the faithful to endure the chaos patiently, not to give in to it, not to deny it, but to practice God's word, a word of fidelity that issues in obedience that takes the form of mercy and justice.  The deep anxiety of our disordered world eventuates, much too often, in selfishness, fear, and violence toward others.  These readings urge that such a time is not time to compromise the radical ethic of faith.  It is rather time for mercy and justice as active forms of patience that match the mercy and justice and compassion of God. 

Walter Brueggemann:  Gift and Task