Posted on 12/18/2013 7:01:29 PM PST by markomalley
The Lord’s coming is near. And though we have all been well taught that the word “Advent” means “coming” there is the danger that we think we are only passively waiting for him to come. It is not just that the Lord is coming to us, but we are also journeying to him. In fact, as the Advent prayers in the Roman Missal instruct, we ought to run (don’t walk) and hasten, to greet him as he draws near.
The image of the Prodigal Son that comes to mind. His Father saw him and ran toward him, but he too was hastening to his Father with contrition and hope. So too, in Advent we do look for the Lord’s coming. But the Lord also looks for us as we come to him by faith. We, like the prodigal son, consider our need for salvation, and with contrition, (did you get to confession this advent?), hasten to meet our Lord, whom we know by faith is coming to us.
This notion of our running to meet God is set forth as a consistent theme in the prayers of the Roman Missal. Consider these prayers and how the theme of our running, hastening, and going out to meet God, even as he is coming to us, is set forth:
Thus, we are not counseled to “wait on the Lord” in a merely passive sense, as though we were sitting still and waiting for a bus to arrive. Rather, we are counseled to “wait on the Lord” in an active sense, much as when we speak of a waiter in a restaurant “waiting on tables.” Such a form of waiting is a very active form of waiting. Alert and aware, the waiter or waitress carefully observes the needs of others around them and serves their brothers and sisters. The good ones strive to avoid distraction and do their job of serving well and with swiftness.
Notice too how the prayers indicate what it means to “run.” We do not run aimlessly or in frantic circles. Rather running to the Lord means:
St. Paul speaks of running too:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize (1 Cor 9:24-27).
Are you running to meet the Lord? Or are you just waiting? Advent involves looking and waiting, but it also means running to meet the Lord who is coming to us. Run, Don’t Walk to the Nearing Jesus!
Msgr Pope ping
“The Lord’s coming is near.”
Keep telling yourself that. In the meantime, here’s what the Bible says:
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Matthew 24:36
Only God knows the day and the hour.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass...Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. Revelation 1:1,3
And He told John to write, almost 2,000 years ago, that the time was “at hand.”
Is God a liar?
For such a time as this . . . http://patburt.com
This was followed by a strong, calm male voice saying, “Prepare! The Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon! This is the last generation!”
God knows the day and the hour. He told John to tell the seven churches in Asia (Turkey) that the time was “at hand” almost 2,000 years ago.
If this blogger is correct, God is a liar. Is God a liar?
Good article by Msgr Pope!
First, this article is about the 3 comings of Jesus, remembering Jesus first coming, the continue coming of Jesus in our lives each day, and the coming in glory of Jesus at the end of the age.
Ping!
Keep telling yourself that. In the meantime, here’s what the Bible says:
Yup, here's what the Bible says:
True, no man knows the day or hour. But the Scriptures clearly tell us to be ready and to be awake. And the way we do so is to live our lives each moment as if we will have to stand in judgment before the Lord within the next 60 seconds.
Christians have believed that Christ’s coming is “near” since He ascended into Heaven. Indeed he very words you have quoted from the Word of God shows this.
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
We don’t know the day or the hour, so the wise among us lives as though He may return at any moment “keeping our lamps full of oil”. Thus, it is perfectly reasonable to say His return is “near” as it keeps us in the proper mindset.
The term “near” is not specifying a day or an hour for His return, just like if you ask me where is the next commuter train, when is it coming, and I reply “close, it’s near”. That’s not telling you it’s coming at 9:07 AM today or next Tuesday. It’s just saying it’s “close”.
“Christians have believed that Christ’s coming is “near” since He ascended into Heaven.”
And, since 70 AD, they have been wrong.
“We don’t know the day or the hour, so the wise among us lives as though He may return at any moment “keeping our lamps full of oil”. Thus, it is perfectly reasonable to say His return is “near” as it keeps us in the proper mindset.”
No, it’s perfectly reasonable to suggest that anyone of us at any moment could enter eternity through death. That is not the same thing as saying Christ is coming soon. The latter is a lie.
“The term “near” is not specifying a day or an hour for His return, just like if you ask me where is the next commuter train, when is it coming, and I reply “close, it’s near”. That’s not telling you it’s coming at 9:07 AM today or next Tuesday. It’s just saying it’s “close”.”
Correct, which is what God told John to write: that the events that were about to unfold were “at hand.” In no way can this be construed to mean 2,000 years into the future, otherwise the letters God Himself instructed John to write would have absolutely no meaning at all to the churches to whom they were written.
Not one word from the NT passages you cited was written to us. The sooner people disabuse themselves of the notion that the Bible is, somehow, all about us, the sooner we can start living the Christian faith as God intended.
Sorry, didn’t know I was dealing with an EW Bullinger-style ultra-dispensationalist.
My apologies.
Even though you’re dead wrong, had I understood I was dealing with a Bullinger fan, I’d have not bothered.
“Sorry, didn’t know I was dealing with an EW Bullinger-style ultra-dispensationalist.”
I’m about as far from Dispensationalism as you can get.
“Even though you’re dead wrong, had I understood I was dealing with a Bullinger fan, I’d have not bothered.”
Your “understanding” is wrong on both counts.
Then, do tell.
Whatever happened to "Every Scripture is God-breathed and useful for instruction in righteousness"?
Have you really thought about this? Studying scripture has taught me that there are at least three levels to Holy Scripture.
First — what did it mean to the people then? (When it was written)
Second — what does it mean to the people of this era? (1940s would be different from the 2000-2010 era)
Third — what does it mean to my own personal life?
When you have gone through a section of Scripture with these three tools, I would say you have really studied it.
And remember that all Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Hahahahahahaaaa ...as if Catholics really believed the Scriptures...
Exodus 20: 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, ...
Ten Commandments
I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember to keep holy the Lord's day
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
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