High Drama in the Highest Heavens

November 27, 2011
Advent 1

Mark 13:24-27
“But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Sermon
Today we begin the season of Advent, a time of preparing, waiting, and watching for the coming of Jesus Christ. And as we begin today, you and I are invited into some pretty dramatic scenes. Scenes of incredible happenings in the heavens . . . stars dropping out of sight. Sun and moon shutting down. Jesus coming on the clouds. What does it all mean? Where is it all going?

There are all kinds of lessons we could find in this passage of scripture. But let me narrow it down a little. Of all the things that the coming of Jesus means for you and me, it at least means this:

First, it means “lights out” for the powers.

Jesus says “In those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” 
– Mark 13:24-25

The lights . . . sun, moon, stars . . . are shut down. And for who? “The powers.” Let me explain. In Jesus’ day, people believed that there was more to life than meets the eye. They believed that there was a reality that you couldn’t touch, or see, or taste, or smell, or hear. In their minds, there were invisible powers that moved on the earth. And there were invisible powers that moved in the heavens. For them, the sky was the uppermost part of the earth. Above the sky, you get into the spiritual realm, where unseen forces influenced what happened on earth. These were energies determining the course of peoples’ lives that you just couldn’t quite put your finger on. Forces that you couldn’t quite wrap your mind around. And they were almost always bad.

Playing people like puppets on a string, marionettes in a circus, these powers enslaved people. They took over. They ran the show. They commandeered the action. When people looked at their lives they saw lots of negative results of the powers.

Not so different from today. Everywhere you look it can look pretty negative. The dark powers of the world seem to call the shots. It’s what we are most aware of. The negative gets the headlines. The dark side of life gets the spotlight. It’s what sells newspapers. It’s what sells magazines. It’s what catches our attention on the news. In our world, as in Jesus’ world, the negative dark forces seem to live in the lime light.


Jesus’ coming to our world, Jesus’ coming to your heart and mine, his coming to your spirit and my spirit, his coming to your mind and my mind, means that for the powers that cause so much havoc, the lights are turned out.


William Shakespeare once said something like “Life is a stage and we are all actors on it.”

If that is the case then, the powers have had their fifteen minutes of fame. Their time is up. Their light is out. Their moment in the sun is over. The Bible says that

“God raised him [Jesus] from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything.”

— Ephesians 1 (Message)

 

Second, it means that Jesus takes center stage.

The skies yield to his presence. The heavens move for his coming. We saw the same thing when Jesus was baptized.

“Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.” — Mark 1:10 (Message)

The Bible says the same thing happened to the temple curtain at Jesus' death:

“for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.” — Luke 23:45 (NRSV)

It is as if the curtain on the big stage of history is pulled wide open and Jesus steps out onto it. When Jesus comes into your mind, and heart, and spirit, he steps into center stage. He commands all the attention. He drives all the action. He is the center of focus and activity.

All the bit part players like sin, death and the devil exit stage left, taking with them all their disguises like fear, pain, illness, and violence. Their time is over. Their moment of fame is up.

Jesus is here now. The curtain dividing heaven and earth is split, torn, and ripped. The prayer from today’s first reading from Isaiah is answered: “Why don’t you tear the sky open and come down?” (Isaiah 64:1) When Jesus comes to your spirit, he stands front and center. All barriers between you and the eternal God are pulled aside.

Three, it means a curtain call for the supporting cast.

The Bible says in today’s gospel,

“Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds,

from the ends of the earth to the end of heaven.”

When he comes out onto center stage of history in his concluding drama, he calls all his understudies to his side. He brings them up on the stage with him to be part of the last act. From “end of the earth to the ends of heaven,” that is, from every nook and cranny of the globe he calls them in. And they gather together around him as he presides over the final curtain call. The writer of Revelation gives us a sneak peek when he writes:

“Then I looked, and,

 oh!—a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, "Ascend and enter. I'll show you what happens next."

I was caught up at once in deep worship and, oh!—a Throne set in Heaven with One Seated on the Throne, suffused in gem hues of amber and flame with a nimbus of emerald. Twenty-four thrones circled the Throne, with Twenty-four Elders seated, white-robed, gold-crowned. Lightning flash and thunder crash pulsed from the Throne. Seven fire-blazing torches fronted the Throne.” Revelation 4:1-6 (Message)

And who do you think it is that wears the white robe and golden crowns? You do. As part of God’s elect, one of his chosen, you share in his rule. The number twenty-four is the Bible’s dramatic way of saying “all God’s people.” You take the twelve tribes of Israel who are the people of God from the Old Testament and add the twelve disciples who represent the people of God from the New Testament and you have twenty four. All God’s people -- past, present, and future -- preside with him in the throne room, in deep heaven. Not just for the time being, but forever.