For God is Near, Here and Now
In a context of a fragile world, if gospel writer Luke
is in residence of our world today, he would call and discern the signs of our
times such as conflict of Palestine Israel (today 29th November
being the UN declared International day in Solidarity with Palestinian People)
and other such conflicts among nations as “distress among nations” as recorded
in Luke 21:25. Luke would also call the forthcoming discussions on climate
change by the global leaders starting from tomorrow, 30th November
2015 at Paris, where the ‘future of the planet’ will be on the table for
discussion, as “confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves”. He would
further call the long unsafe, undocumented travels of refugees across lands and
oceans as “people will faint from fear” for they are fleeing due to war and
situations of violence from their home countries. Such a fear is also due to
the rising intolerance of the governments on minorities and other indigenous
communities.
In such and similar other contexts, Luke proposes that
“Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great
glory.” (21:27) Such a sign of Son of Man coming, is a sign of hope for the
communities who are in deep distress and suffering. Advent, therefore as a
‘time of waiting’ is an affirmation in the ‘nearness of God’ for our time. The
existing signs of our times in the world are not just ‘end of our times’,
rather are ‘times at our end’, and ‘times on our end,’ which needs a
recognition of the coming of Son of Man into our times. Advent is an adventure,
rediscover it, recapture it and reaffirm it.
1. Rediscovering
the Nearness of God’s Presence:
“Son of Man coming in the cloud” is a landing note for
faith communities today, for the recognition of this Christological title,
which was picked from the apocryphal literature of Daniel, is situating God in
Christ amidst the dirt, dust and dawn of our contexts. There is a nearness of
God’s presence among us and amidst us when God in Christ pitched his tent among
the materiality of our contexts. Advent unsettles the God of transcendence, who
was above the clouds and resettles it with a God of immanence, who as ‘Son of
Man coming in a cloud’, coming near to the creation and the creatures. The
distance between God and creation is reduced in this process of ‘nearness,’
where God’s velocity of coming down to earth is accelerated, with the brewing
of signs of our times today. This serves as a sign of hope for communities
longing and waiting for transformation.
2. Redeeming
Redemption for Reparation:
With the coming of Son of Man, Luke proposes that
‘redemption is near,’ for God in Christ has redeemed the creation from its
traps and chains. However, one has to recognise that ‘redemption’ is a market
term, which means a ‘repurchase.’ Our context today demands us to untangle this
soteriological metaphor, which has been subsumed by the language of market and
globalisation, for a costumer is encouraged to redeem their reward points of
buying. A subversive reading of ‘redemption’ would be to redeem our rhetoric of
faith and turn them into praxis. For the Son of Man’s presence among our
contexts is to redeem his transcendence and turn it into immanence. Redeeming
justice from the bonds of injustice is the sign of hope for our times. Redemption
for our times may have to be interpreted as reconciliation and even more
towards reparation. If redemption is ‘pay with’, reconciliation is ‘pay
together,’ and reparation is ‘pay back.’ Advent therefore affirms in the
nearness of God’s redemption, which calls us for reparation as a way forward.
3. Recovering
the Demos-cracy of God’s Reign:
Jesus in Luke’s gospel explains his coming with a fig tree,
for when the leaves sprout it is a sign of a coming of summer, like wise with
these signs of our times and the signs of hope sprouting; the kingdom of God is
at hand and is nearing. God’s reign is a non-monarchical and non-hierarchal
space, where there is no distinction between king and their subjects. God’s
reign is a ‘democratic vision’ and a ‘democratic space,’ which is defined as by
the people, for the people and of the people. It is here in this space, the Son
of Man becomes a co-subject along with the creation in that democracy of God’s
reign, where he partakes and participates in that space. Some may argue, having
seen so many democratic countries, is democracy a successful form of governance
that can be construed as a form of God’s reign. I would argue, democracy has
not been fully realized in those countries, people’s collective participation
has not yet realized. But in the reign of God, with Son of Man as a subject,
God’s reign will be fully realized one, where creatures in the creation will
define, describe and decide the reign. God’s reign is a space that would emerge
from below among our contexts and communities. It is a reign that contests all
forms of autocracy, authoritarianism, colonialism, dictatorships and other such
forms. Advent therefore is an affirmation in the nearness of God’s reign, where
Son of man along with his creation decides in that reign.
The relevance
of Advent today is to invoke the nearness of God’s presence, redemption and
reign into our contexts, for the Son of Man has already come and pitched his
tent. Reconciliation and reparation becomes the key in striving for justice to
situations of Palestine and also on the climate justice talks, for human greed
has taken over the earth for all these years. The nearness of God inspires
communities to work for justice, for Son of Man as a co-pilgrim participates in
the struggles of the creation, striving for its liberation. Advent is
adventurous, get into it, work for justice and become channels of hope, for you
are the hope that world is in need of.
Raj Bharat Patta,
29th November 2015,
(From the notes of the Sermon Preached at St. Peter’s
Church and Chaplaincy, Manchester on the First Sunday in Advent from the text
of Luke 21:26-36)
