It’s the time of the year where we are all doing the “get ready for Christmas thing”, and we are doing it in a lot of ways. We’re getting ready here at church…celebrating advent, lighting the candles, having a jesse tree. But each of us is also getting ready at home...trimming a tree, setting out a favorite nativity set, baking holiday goodies, and wrapping presents. We are definitely in the “getting ready” mode of things.
The new earth will be a place where righteousness is at home.
Today’s scripture from 2 Peter is also about getting ready. It’s all about preparing for the second coming of Christ and making sure that everything is prepared when he arrives. The author of this letter is ready for the second coming and the end of the world. It’s important to realize that early Christians believed that the second coming was going to happen soon…like tomorrow soon…they believed that Christ was coming back and would do so in their lifetimes. So, many of the letters after the gospels included a “Jesus is coming back tomorrow, so get ready” kind of message, and 2 Peter is no different.
So why on earth would we talk about the end of the world as we approach advent? We’re no longer convinced that it’s going to be tomorrow, but we anticipate a second coming. One of the ways we celebrate the ultimate advent of Christ’s return, is through our yearly celebrations of advent and Christmas.
What really struck me about this passage today is the part where the author says that the new order, the new earth will be a place where righteousness is at home. So, as we prepare for the Advent of our Lord, we must create a place where righteousness can find a home. So, how do we make a home for righteousness? How do we prepare our homes in such a way that when Jesus arrives…either in the Manger on Christmas day, or in a great cosmic return…that we are ready.
Righteousness…what is righteousness anyway? And how on earth would we prepare for it?
Just as the evergreen does not change during winter, neither does God's love change.
Ultimately, it’s fairly simple right? It’s being moral and ethical and doing so without guilt or sin. Sounds simple enough. It *Is* simple enough, but unfortunately, in our present world, righteousness doesn’t have much of a home. We have not made righteousness welcome in our homes and in our hearts.
In the midst of this season of preparation, this scripture serves as a reminder to us…we are reminded that every preparation we make for the coming of the Christ Child is also a preparation for the day when he truly comes again.
So let us prepare the way we know how…
It gives us hope to add more light to our homes.
Let’s put up a Christmas tree. As we put up the evergreen, we are reminded of the eternal nature of God’s love for us. Just as the evergreen does not change during winter, neither does God’s love change. The Christmas tree reminds us that because of God’s love through Jesus, we can also live eternally.
Let’s hang the ornaments. The ornaments not only remind us of tender memories and special times, but as we put them on the tree, we remember the ornaments…Christmons…Christ Monograms that tell us the story of Jesus’. As we hang that shining star atop our tree, we remember the star that guided the wise ones to worship the baby Jesus, or as we place an angel there we remember the angels that heralded his birth.
Let’s put up the Christmas lights and light the candles, but as we do so, let us remember that we do so in the spirit of the “light of the world” that came to us in the form of a baby so small. As our days grow shorter and shorter and the nights grow longer, it gives us hope to add more light to our homes and helps us to remember that of Christ and the hope of his arrival.
Let’s cut the holly and ivy and hang them in our homes. The prickly edges of the holly remind us of the crown of thorns and the bright red berries remind us of the blood shed. The ivy reminds us of the tenacity of the church through the centuries and the way that God’s love clings to us like the ivy clings to the walls.
Let’s wrap the presents. With each gift, we remember the gifts of the magi—the gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We remember that the first gifts that were given were gifts of practicality—gold for travels and for financial security, frankincense for ritual services, and myrrh for the preparation of a body. While these gifts were wildly extravagant, they served a purpose. Let our own gifts be given with such love and purpose.
Let’s send the cards. With each greeting sent, we are reminded of the letters of the early Christians that bore greetings and helped to spread the story of Christ throughout the world.
And finally, let’s ring the bells. Let’s ring them loudly so as to remind us to come to worship. Let’s ring our bells to remind us of the joyful noise of the Angels, but let’s ring them the loudest to announce to the world that WE are ready. WE have prepared ourselves, and WE are eagerly anticipating the coming Christ.