December 21st, 2024

Our Christmas Message this year is by the Right Reverend Damien Mead, Honorary Doctor of Divinity of the University and Bishop Ordinary of the United Kingdom Diocese of the Anglican Catholic Church. The parish church of St. Augustine's is the featured image.

All around the Christian World, and I suspect in much of the non-Christian world too, Advent is a time of preparation. Increasingly though, it is not exactly preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Instead, it is a time which can be very stressful, especially when the anticipated extra expense of Christmas bites deep into people’s pockets and with fears abounding in the world of those who have so little and struggle to make ends meet. At best this preparation time seems to include a fair amount of exploring dusty wardrobe tops, underneath the bed in the spare bedroom, trips to the attic or cellar, or perhaps the garage, to find the boxes of tinsel and baubles we use to decorate our Christmas trees and homes in preparation for the “holiday season”.

Of course, if as Christians, we are saddened by the usurping of Advent we should make sure that it is not simply because we feel the Feast of the Nativity has been relegated to listening to a few Christmas Carols in many people’s lives. We should be more concerned in the far more serious lack of preparation for Our Lord’s Second Coming at the end of time when he will come as Judge of all AND that is something I fear we may all be guilty of, even if we ARE in Church over the Christmas period.

The key to good preparation is knowing what we are preparing for and how best to do so. How much time do we give to considering how many people are coming for Christmas dinner? How many Christmas cards are we to send, how many presents to buy? Amid these considerations, just how do we prepare to celebrate Christmas in its fullness and use Advent in the way it is intended. 
The clues are to be found writ clear on every page in the New Testament, and particularly the Gospels. We live between the first coming of Jesus when he was born at Bethlehem and his Second Coming at the end of time when he will come as Judge of all. 
   ‘And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
  Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
   And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.’ (Luke 21:25-28 )
   I don’t think hanging tinsel and baubles is going to be enough, do you?

In the early years after Pentecost the Church believed the Second Coming of Jesus would be only a matter of years away. Many are of the opinion that St. Paul, early in his ministry, believed the Second Coming of Jesus would be so soon that he himself would not die before it occurred. But as time went by the growing Church gradually began to realise that the Second Coming of Jesus would not be as early as originally expected. Therefore, it became important for the Church to have written records of Jesus, so the Gospels were composed. Why did the early Church long for the Second Coming of Jesus, and why are we invited to reflect on it, and indeed long for it, during Advent?

Our Lord’s Second Coming will complete what Jesus began with his birth in Bethlehem, his death and resurrection. It will bring the fullness of salvation to the world.
God has been present with us throughout all of history, but the Second Coming of Jesus and the General Judgment will show all God’s final purpose and goal. At the General Judgment we will see how God’s plan for all of history worked itself out.
   
So, the Church invites us to long for, and prepare for, the Second Coming of Jesus.
If the tinsel and baubles we hang to celebrate the Nativity of Jesus are not enough … How DO we prepare for it?   
Let us take Our Lord at His word –    ‘Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is ... Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.’ (Mark 13:33-37)

   Of course, the wonderful truth is that we can know the Lord Jesus now at this present moment. Through Holy Scripture, prayer and especially in the Sacraments, Jesus Christ manifests himself and we can truly encounter Him.  When we receive Holy Communion, we encounter Jesus’ coming in a uniquely special way. Truly present in the form of Bread and Wine in a wonderful divine mystery, as those of us in the Anglican tradition pray; ‘that whosoever shall be partakers of this Holy Communion may worthily receive the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ and be fulfilled with thy grace and heavenly benediction, and made one body with thy Son Jesus Christ, that he may dwell in them and they in him.’ (Eucharistic Canon of the 1549 BCP) 

St. Cyril of Jerusalem (AD387) said that reception of Holy Communion makes the Christian a "Christ-bearer" and "one body and one blood with Him". 
  ‘And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.’ (Romans 13:11-14)

    Rather than simply spending time dressing our Christmas Trees with bright and sparkly things throughout Advent. We should focus instead on adorning our lives with the far brighter virtues of faith, hope and charity. May those who look upon us marvel at the sparkling jewels of generosity, compassion, love, kindness and forgiveness, and may they see the garland of repentance, confession and contrition, surrounding us.

May these increase more and more as we await the coming of Jesus, as we continue our journey together towards that glorious day, may we use every opportunity to invite others to join us, that in seeing that we have cast every care on the Lord, the worry and stress of Christmas for them may be eased, and may we ever thank God for calling us into the mystical body of His Son. Now that is something to celebrate!

Happy Christmas!  

+Damien Mead