Trinity Sermons

Here Comes the Judge!

Dec. 4, 2006 Rev. David C. Huffman Luke 21:25-36

Some of you here this morning are old enough to remember Flip Wilson’s comedy sketch from the late 60’s and early 70’s that became a cultural icon. He would appear in a courtroom dressed as a judge from Colonial times, complete with wig, shouting, “Here comes the judge; here comes the judge!” It tended to get everyone’s attention. That is what Advent is really all about: waiting, watching, and anticipating the arrival of the Messiah, God’s anointed king and redeemer who will save Israel and restore her fortunes.

That prophecy began to take shape after Cyrus the Great, the benevolent king of Persia, liberated the Jews from Babylonian exile and sent them home to Israel after 50 years of exile. Under Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and Solomon’s temple, but Cyrus would not allow them to anoint another king. Israel basically became a vassal state under Persia’s rule. So when it became apparent that Israel would not have another king sitting on David’s throne in Jerusalem, God began to call prophets who spoke of God sending a king in the future, a Messiah, who would come and make everything right for Israel. And as time passed without this promise being fulfilled, anticipation and eagerness mounted. So when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Israel had been waiting for over 500 years. That’s a long time to wait. Someone once said that a dream deferred can lead to despair. But Israel continued waiting and watching.

This has always struck me as ironic. How in the world could the sentries of Israel’s faith, who were well versed in the prophets’ visions of the advent of the Messiah be so blind when he showed up? Have you ever thought about that? When the President comes to Raleigh for a visit, the Highway Patrol shuts down I-40, the beltline, and all major arteries adjacent to his route. Helicopters fly overhead, television and radio cover his visit, secret service swarm the city, and all the public dignitaries turn out to welcome and greet the president. His arrival would be hard for anyone to miss. When heroes return from the moon, or victory in war, or win the Super Bowl or a national championship, they receive a ticker tape parade down Fifth Avenue or Pennsylvania Avenue, and the whole city turns out to cheer them.

In stark contrast, when the long-awaited Messiah was born, King Herod, Pilate, Caiaphas, the chief priests and other big wigs in Jerusalem were at home in bed sound asleep, oblivious to the fact that two miles down the road in the hamlet of Bethlehem, a young peasant couple from Nazareth were sleeping in a stable because there was no room for them to stay any where else. And when he arrived, only a handful of local shepherds working the night shift and a host of heavenly angels showed up to note the occasion. One of the clear themes in the Bible is that God is not a showoff or inclined to stage a big production. More often than not, when God shows up in this world, it is through the back door or some obscure person like a teenager named Mary from a small town, a youthful Jeremiah, twelve-year old David, or Amos, a shepherd and farmer. So, in a way, it is altogether fitting that the Messiah was born in a barn in a feed trough, instead of the royal palace or the parsonage of the First Hebrew Temple in downtown Jerusalem. Maybe God does this to demonstrate his accessibility to everyone, not just rich and powerful and the high and mighty.

This reminds me of the story of a Baron in England who gave a big party at his manor house, which was black tie affair. When one of the last guests arrived, he must not have paid attention to the invitation because he showed up in casual clothing. When he stepped into the foyer and saw the other guests wearing tuxedos and evening gowns, he blushed with embarrassment. His gracious host excused himself and returned wearing jeans and a sweater. You see, it was more important to the host to make all his guests comfortable than to be appropriately dressed. I think that might explain why God chose to have Jesus born in a stable.

Maybe that is why Mary sang that incredible song we call the Magnificat; after Gabriel announced to her that she was going to be the mother of the God’s Messiah. She sang that when the Messiah came he was going to bring down the high and mighty and lift up the poor and the oppressed. This new king was going to bring good news and bad news – bad news to all who had risen to stations of power and wealth through immoral and unethical ways and good news to those who had been on the short end of the stick in life. When Jesus stood up and preached his first sermon at his home synagogue in Nazareth, he quoted Isaiah who has said he would come to bring good news to the poor, sight to the blind, release to the captives, and to set at liberty those who were oppressed. This wasn’t such good news for Herod and Pilate and the chief priests. So this Messiah was a mixed blessing for the world. He was coming to bring justice and grace; judgment and redemption.

I remember seeing a bumper sticker that read: good news, bad news; Jesus is coming, and boy is he mad! Sometimes we fail to see this element of judgment in the Messiah’s job description, but it is there. That is why Jesus lambasted the scribes and Pharisees and priests for their hypocrisy and corruption. They had turned their religion into a system that served them and not God and neighbor. He called them a bunch of snakes and white washed tombs and told them they had replaced true religion with their own self-serving traditions. It was not a pleasant assessment.

On the other hand he liberally forgave sinners like tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, and others considered outcasts by proper society. But not willy nilly. Remember when Jesus encountered the pillars of the church about to stone a woman had committed adultery? He told the angry crowd that the one without any sin should cast the first stone. And they all skedaddled in a New York minute. But Jesus didn’t let the woman off Scot free; he told here to go and sin no more. He didn’t dismiss the fact that she had committed adultery. He judged her guilty of breaking God’s law, but instead of stoning her, which was legal at the time; he forgave her.

III

So Jesus is a peculiar kind of Messiah. He is not a stern, angry judge who comes to punish everyone for their sins. He is a righteous, compassionate Messiah who judges and condemns all sins and then showers the penitent with grace and forgiveness. You see, that’s the problem for a lot of Christians who come to church only on Christmas and Easter. Their understanding of the Christian faith is that God sent a baby into the world at Christmas who rose from the dead on Easter to save the world. Well, that leaves out a whole lot of important stuff, doesn’t it? Like the entire teaching ministry of Jesus which includes things like repenting from our sins, like turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, loving our neighbors, praying for our enemies, and feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and those in prison and even being as perfect as God in heaven!

So we better be careful when we pray “Come Lord Jesus!” This sweet baby Jesus grew up to become a Messiah who judged sin and forgave sinners, especially those you and I would be uncomfortable having over to our house for dinner. We better be careful what we pray for; we might get it. It has always given me pause that Jesus was particularly hard on religious people, especially their leaders, who wore long robes and vestments like these. You see, we are the ones who claim to know God and be in his good graces. So, when we don’t live what we believe and profess, we set ourselves up for the charge of hypocrisy, which Jesus did not tolerate. The story is told of the priest who was sitting in his study at the church on Christmas Eve afternoon preparing for the evening service. He looked up and saw a dark figure walking across the church lawn in the snow. As he looked closer, he noticed that it was a man with long hair and a beard wearing a shepherd’s robe. Then he realized that it was Jesus. The Second Coming was happening, and it was at his church. He quickly got the bishop on the telephone, told him Jesus had returned and was walking up to his front door and asked him what he should do. The Bishop said, “Look busy!” Indeed.

Our passage today is about the Second Coming of Jesus, which is always the lectionary passage for the First Sunday of Advent. I have always been curious about this since Advent prepares us for Jesus’ first coming in Bethlehem. But maybe this is God’s way of reminding us that the one who born in Bethlehem and died on a cross 33 years later was not just a Messiah for the Jews or those living in those days but for all people of all time, and that one day he will return to tie up all the loose ends and to correct the mess we have made of things throughout world history. This is a Messiah who not only delivered the good news that God had graciously decided to forgive our sins and reconcile us to God, but also that this God was going to teach us how to love one another and be reconciled with our enemies. This is a Messiah who, when he left this world, promised that God would send us the Holy Spirit who would give us some incredible gifts, not gold, frankincense and myrrh – not even Ipods, Playstations, and Razor Phones! But love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control.

I don’t know about you, but that’s what I want for Christmas. And I think if we all wanted this, in the words of that great American theologian, Louis Armstrong, What a Wonderful World this would be. “Oh Yeah ……