C, Advent 1 - Luke 21:27-28,36 "Stand Before The Son Of Man"
A man and woman, a dog, a horse, and a
chicken, all find themselves standing before God after their time on earth, and
he asks them, “What was your purpose while you lived in the world?”
The chicken tells God that her purpose
was to lay eggs for food for the man and the woman and to have baby chickens so
they too could produce eggs and more chickens.
Some of us chickens would also be food for humanity too. The chicken testified to its practice of
scratching around the place eating insects, grubs, and grains of seed during
the course of each day. The chicken also
joyfully tells of its production of chook poo and how it fertilises the ground.
The horse is then called to testify to
its purpose to which it tells God it is a beast of burden. We horses carry humanity on our backs, pull
loads of goods, and plough paddocks with our horsepower. And, like the chicken,
the horse also confesses its poo is good for the garden.
The dog is then brought forward to
attest to its function in the scheme of daily activity. The dog reveals its purpose as a protector
and a friend of the man and woman. It
tells of its dogged determination of chasing down other animals like cattle and
sheep, to help humans round up their herds and flocks. But the dog also freely bears witness to the
not so nice practise of eating rotten flesh, scavenging, and even returning to
its own vomit from time to time.
Finally, the humans stand before God to
give evidence of what their function is in the world. But the humans don’t know what to say to
God. They didn’t realise they had to
stand before God. In fact, they had
forgotten God existed and thought they were the ultimate reality on earth.
Humanity has forgotten its
function! What is our purpose in
life? When Jesus returns how will we
stand before the Righteousness of God.
How does one stand before the Son of
Man? Face to face, toe to toe with Jesus
Christ on the last day we will all stand before the Son of Man! And as we stand before him, the full account
of our lives will be revealed down to the last dot and tittle. How does one
stand before the Son of Man?
The Son of Man is a title that Jesus
often used for himself and often connected with his coming at the end of
time. Jesus is also the Son of God, but
he never uses this title. Rather, it is spoken of him by Gabriel the Archangel
when Jesus was conceived in Mary. He is named the Son of God in the linage of
man in the genealogy of Adam. The Devil,
demons, and the Jews all accuse him in connection with being the Son of
God. But Jesus lived, suffered, and died
as the Son of Man, and during this time promised his return as the Son of Man.
In stark contrast to Jesus calling
himself the Son of Man, we position ourselves as sons of ourselves, second to
no one. Each of us would prefer to be
recognised as heroes of humanity rather than a son of man.
Man in his misogyny and females in
their feminism, both challenging each other and turning in on the centrality of
their humanity, seek to stand aloof in one’s own righteousness. Being a son of
man like Jesus doesn’t appeal to us, as something to which we might want to
attain or to one whom we would want to submit.
But Jesus promises, “…they will
see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place,
straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke
21:27–28 ESV)
And he continues, “But stay
awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these
things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36 ESV)
To understand what Jesus is telling us
about straightening up, raising your head, and standing before the Son of Man
in the future, we need to see what Jesus teaches us about standing before the
Son of Man in the word of God.
Jesus addresses how a person stands
when he tells a parable to some who trusted in themselves that they
were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one
a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I
am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax
collector. I fast twice a week; I give
tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax
collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but
beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house
justified, rather than the other.”
(Luke 18:9–14a ESV)
Jesus stands before humanity as the
servant Son of Man. Then Jesus will
stand before humanity with power and great glory at the end of time.
Jesus tells us, the Son of Man comes to
us in this life and knocks, he says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with
him, and he with me.” (Revelation
3:20 ESV)
And, “…once the master of the house has risen
and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door,
saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you
come from.’ Then you will begin to say,
‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know
where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ In that place there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the
prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.” (Luke 13:25–28
ESV)
Jesus stands to serve, and he will come
and stand to see if we have received his service. Those who do not want his service in this
life will continue in that. Those who
realise they need his service and allow him to be our servant will enter the
eternal service of God the Father where there is eternal peace.
Jeremiah looked forward to the time of
Jesus’ service of righteousness in a time when salvation and security on earth
seemed fleeting. He says, “In those days
Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by
which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 33:16 ESV)
It is advantageous for us, as we enter
the Advent season, to let the light of
Christ serve you. Let him illuminate
your sin and save you as he stands before you and knocks. Let God function in your life as your God so
you can stand in his eternal kingdom functioning as saints saved for all
eternity.
For the kingdom and the power and the glory belongs to the Son of Man. And he stands before us, offering himself as gift, today and every day, until he returns with all power and glory. Amen.
