“See, I Am Making All Things New.”

And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” the Universe Humanity City God’s son Copyright© Caroline Martin Advent 2020 Making All Things New Contents Week 1: How? Week 2: Human Response? Week 3: Why? Week 4: How? Why? What? The Incarnation Advent Over 2000 years ago the early followers of Jesus told the world of good news. Jesus of Nazareth was and is the Christ. His life, his death, and especially his resurrection to which they were witnesses was the key to bringing the world to its fruition, to its created purpose, to its right relationship with God. It was both a promise of what was to come and an assertion that what is gives light to that future, for it is now and yet to be. God in Christ Jesus made a new covenant with the world. The letters the apostle Paul wrote to the churches he knew suggest that the time of fulfillment was near; the coming of Christ in glory was expected soon. As time passed Paul often warned and encouraged those he had led to the truth he saw in Christ Jesus, not to give up hope even though the Parousia was not yet. The gospel writers several decades later echoed that same conviction adding elements of suffering and judgment to the picture of the Day of the Lord. The writer of Revelation envisioned a spectacular descent of the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world and reigns in the city of God, the New Jerusalem. All those assertions, visions, and convictions are a part of each Advent season. We pray “Come Lord Jesus, come.” Yet it is a long time since Jesus of Nazareth walked the highways and byways of Galilee. The kingdom of God which he proclaimed as near is still hidden for many. Discord, pain, and destruction scar our earth; selfishness, greed, and suffering mark our human lives. We struggle to allow our “better angels” to dominate; we ache for a community where love is determinative; we would seek justice, we need mercy, and we know not how to walk humbly with our God. I wonder when we pull back the curtain how many of us ask, “Will the return ever be?” “Has it already happened?” “Is it the answer we need?” “Is it just an ancient myth with no current meaning?” Looking at our natural world, we can see the cyclical progress of birth, life, death, and rebirth in the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, the trees of the land. Life is finite, at least life as we experience it on earth. The seasons circle from winter to summer; the crops are planted in spring and the harvest collected in fall; the child is born and the elder dies. Is not this the way of the world? The universe we are told has moved and is moving through relative time; it expands, but will it reverse and contract or just go on outward forever, infinitely? Is there no beginning or end, or did space- time begin and will end, or will there be a spiraling up and then cascading down only to rise again? I wonder also how many of us who assert that “it” will be, wonder actually what “it” is. What does it mean to say, “Christ will return in glory?” What does it mean that “God will make his home among mortals?” What change is implied in “a new heaven and a new earth?” What is the hope of the apocalypse? What is the coming we enjoin? Why “make all things new,” aren’t they okay now; do we really need to start over? Aren’t we working to bring the kingdom of heaven to our place and time? The paradox that I think underpins our Advent confession is just this: “It” is, and “it” is not yet. Our Scriptures as presently arranged end with the descent of a holy city, the city of God. The ruler proclaims, “I am making all things new.” Those same Scriptures begin in an idyllic garden where humans innocently walked with God until they did not, until they were thrown out. In-between we read of peoples whose relationship with God is troubled, turbulent, and blessed; the passages tell us that God wishes relationship, that God’s love is steadfast, that humans are sought, forgiven, and redeemed. We are still in that in-between time it seems, or are we? Perhaps the truth is subject to the relativity of time and space, and reality is in essence becoming. Maybe we humans are tied together to the one that always is, but it does not yet seem real to us. I imagine some, if not all, by now are saying, “Wait a minute, does it really matter? Do we need to trouble our minds and hearts with unanswerable questions? Why can’t we just say it’s a mystery and go on with our lives?” I hear that and for much of the time I could agree, and I am sure there are those for whom this sort of questioning is not only a waste of time but dangerous and heretical. I honor that and suggest if that is truly where your heart and soul are now that you use the devotional time and readings to find the joy in your convictions and the hope in your assuredness. In fact, joy and hope are the responses I seek in this time of Advent while we ponder, wait, and are still. If on the other hand, when you hear God’s prophets of all times say “I am making all things new,” it raises questions about the nature and direction of God, then I invite you fearlessly to entertain the queries and listen for replies. In both instances, I believe, when honestly engaged, our time of intentionally being in the presence of the divine will give God glory and will make real our Advent prayer “Come, Lord Jesus, come.” Introduction The cosmic view of the new creation is found primarily in Revelation although both the gospel writers and the authors of the letters in the New Testament tell us of what they perceive is and is to come. The words of the prophets of the exile recorded in the Old Testament assured the Israelites that God would make all things new. Jesus in his last week speaks of a new covenant “sealed in his blood.” We are the recipients of these writings and two millennia of deliberation and experience. And yet we still wonder, question, and pray. This Advent again we ask for understanding, for direction, and for hope. We pray for our world, for our relationships, for renewal, for joy and peace. “Come, Lord Jesus, come!” This devotional is organized around these questions: How is God making all things new? What is the human response? Why is God making anew? And how is the incarnation a part of what God is doing? Each week addresses one question using a Scriptural passage that provides a place to begin to ponder the question. A discussion follows of possible ways the Scripture leads us to respond and considerations of what the natural world reveals. The week includes suggestions for imagination and contemplation. Finally, I try to suggest how these considerations relate to the essentials of our faith, the birth, life, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. I pray you will find useful words to ponder, opportunities to deepen your relationship with God in Christ Jesus, and new ways to be a follower of Jesus now and in our world. Blessings Caroline. Making All Things New How will God make all things new? Advent Week 1 19Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. Psalm 80:19 Scripture: Mark 13: 24 – 37 Sunday Week 1 Read slowly, and pick a word you feel called to carry through the week. Let it occupy the back space of you mind and return to it consciously as the week ends. What is the word of the Lord to you this first week of Advent? 24 “But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. 34It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35Therefore, keep awake — for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.

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