Liturgically speaking, this is a really cool couple of weeks of the Christian year. The reason is because they are the last 2 weeks of the Christian year. (The first day of Advent, Sunday, November 27th begins the new Christian year.) And in church in these couple of weeks we get to talk what we don’t often talk about: the end times.
But the reason I like these last 2 weeks of the year is because that even when the Bible is talking about the end of the world, the message of the gospel is pretty simple: Those who follow Christ don’t have to worry. I don’t mean this in a “left behind” sort of way, as in we to celebrate our escape while everybody else gets punished. Rather, I mean this in the I-am-a-huge-worrier sort of way. Will my family be ok? Will God judge me worthy of heaven? But in the midst of the worry the simple and powerful message of the gospel comes in: just be faithful. In other words, just trust the one who keeps his promises and keep doing the work that He calls us into no matter what day it is.
The interesting about this whole thing is that as I was turning on my computer to write this blog entry, the song “Stand by Me” came on in Starbucks and I heard the words:
“If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
And the mountains should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me.”
The writer of this song, Ben E. King, must know his Bible and that great promise Jesus gives us in it:
Matthew 28:20: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
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