Rev. Stephen E. Stults
St. Paul’s Anglican Church
Sunday Next before Advent, 2015
Philippians 1:1 Paul and
Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus
which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God
our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
In this statement, St. Paul bids peace and grace to the
congregation at Philippi, both in his own name and that of his traveling
companion, Timotheus. This is, of course,
the same Timothy to whom Paul would write two epistles, called “the Pastorals”,
which are still used in diaconal exams to this day. Later in history, this same
Timothy would become the first bishop of Crete and would help spread the Gospel
for years after Paul’s martyrdom in Rome.
Of interest also is mention of two of the Church’s historic
orders, as St. Paul mentions the bishops and deacons in the church at Philippi.
This is interesting, and instructive as well, for it shows clearly that these
orders existed in the earliest days of the Church.
Why is the office of the priesthood, not mentioned? Simply because that at that time it did not exist.
The priesthood did not exist until later, when the Church had grown so much
that bishops simply could not handle the ministry work load. At the same time, it was not thought prudent
to consecrate many more bishops just to baptize, celebrate the Eucharist, and
to perform other duties considered beyond the diaconate, but not necessarily
rising to the level of bishop. The office of priest was to do this work of the
Church. Thus, the office was created.
The reason we mention this is twofold. First, we want to
reinforce the validity of clerical orders in the Church, and by so doing, show
that we orthodox Christians seek to preserve the Church according to its
earliest model.
Secondly, we want to emphasize the orderly nature of
God. As most of us have heard many
times, we worship a God of order. He is
not a God of confusion or chaos. He is
never hurried, hasty, or uncertain. He
simply IS. God, in His complete
serenity, sees eternity at a glance. Better said, He IS eternity.
From the burning bush, Moses heard (Exodus 3:14): " And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he
said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto
you. “
With that thought in mind, let us briefly consider the perfect
plan God prepared for the salvation of mankind. In our epistle selection, God
speaks through the suffering prophet, Jeremiah. We hear a statement very
fitting for this Sunday Next before Advent: (Jeremiah 23:5-6): “Behold,
the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch,
and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in
the earth. 6 In his days
Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his
name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS”
In other
words, God the Father didn’t suddenly decide one day that Jesus Christ should
leave His glory, take the form of a man, and come save mankind from his
sins. Rev. 13:8 speaks of the “…lamb
slain from the foundation of the world." In other words, the advent of Christ was conceived from
the beginning of the world. Seeing
eternity in one view, God knows all things, sees all things, and in a strange
and mysterious way, directs all things.
In our limited reality, we are experiencing the Sunday Next
before Advent. In the church year, we re-live
the spectacle of salvation from its prophetic beginning to its dramatic
conclusion on Easter morning. Consider
these words from Jeremiah 23:7-8: “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that
they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of
Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 But, The LORD liveth, which
brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north
country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell
in their own land.”
At first
glance, these words may hold little significance for us. A closer examination shows they have monumental
significance. The first part of the statement says that the people, both the Jews
and the redeemed in Christ, will not just say that their God lives who brought
them out of Egypt. In other words, God is not just the Lord of the Old
Testament - the witness of the deliverance from Egypt. In the more perfect revelation of God
received by the people, they will now affirm that their God will restore them
to their own land, from which He had driven them because of their sin.
While
the deliverance from our original state of bondage was wonderful, symbolized by
the Jew’s deliverance from Egypt, their salvation was not complete. Later in
the Bible, we see the complete fall into sin by both Israel and Judah. The Law
was not enough, nor was the witness of all the prophets who were sent to warn
them from their sin. Something else was needed.
This
complete salvation is symbolized by the people’s worship of God as He restores
them to their original land. This “land”
is, of course, more than the restoration of the Jews to Palestine. It is our
eternal home with God. It is that perfect
country which we seek, brought about by the Gospel message of the New Testament. Thus, while the first statement glorifies God
in the Old Testament’s witness of deliverance from bondage, the second
statement glorifies Him in the New Testament’s witness of restoration and
homecoming.
How will
this restoration and homecoming be accomplished? In God’s perfect Mind, it has already been accomplished
through the King about whom Jeremiah prophesied. This Messiah will deliver
Israel from her sins and lead her to righteousness. We Gentiles, who have been “graffed into” the
Tree of Life, are included in the family of God by Jesus Christ. [i]
This is
what we are preparing for this Advent Season.
Not for the family gatherings, the presents, and the decorations of the
Christmas Season. All of these things
occur because we are celebrating the fulfillment of prophecy. It is a
prophecy that came true in the Person of Jesus Christ and one that can come
true in our hearts today, as we prepare for the Advent season.
Thus,
grasp this Advent Season with all of your spiritual strength and hold it close
to you. Take from it all of the
meaningful inklings of the coming Christmas Season. Discard from it all
distracting and ultimately meaningless celebrations that do not honor Christ.
Let this
Advent be a time of preparation and anticipation for the fulfilling of Jeremiah’s
prophecy.
Jeremiah
23:6 “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel
shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE
LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
