Come, Lord Jesus, Come

Beloved in Christ, 

Preachers often refer to weeks around the turn of the liturgical year as the “doom and gloom Sundays,” because the scripture readings feature themes of judgment and last things. Episcopalians hate those readings. We find it hard to square the idea of judgment, and often violent predictions of suffering and struggle, with our image of an endlessly loving and merciful God.

But it’s important to remember that all of scripture was written by and for the oppressed and the marginalized. It was addressed to those left out of the gaudy abundance of the powerful and privileged. From that perspective, God’s promise to overturn the world order and set the scales of injustice right was good news indeed. The apocalyptic writings in the Bible we so often disdain were actually written to provide comfort and reassurance for God’s people who faced a world that was falling apart in fear and vulnerability.

All around the world today, there are billions of people who have been left out of the overwhelming wealth and abundance that many of us enjoy. In our own nation, we are living through days when some of the most vulnerable among us: the immigrant, the desperately poor, persons identifying as LGBTQ+, and many others, are facing a future that feels deeply fearful. In the midst of all of this, often under-loved passages from Mark 13, Daniel 7, Revelation 1, and Luke 21 will remind us that God always stands on the side of those who live in fear and on the margins. They will remind us that arc of God’s project to heal the world with love ends in justice. They will remind us that Jesus, the human face of God’s loving heart, is still Lord when everything else is falling apart.

Only the Spirit’s power can fully bring about God’s perfect reign of peace. Our job is to point the way to that coming reign through our work, our witness, and standing where Jesus stands. In these weeks, dearly beloved, may we stand with Jesus, with all the suffering people, in all the small places, throughout the world and history, and shout with them, until our voices are hoarse, the prayer that resounds through the centuries: “come, Lord Jesus, come.” 

Grace and Peace, 

The Right Reverend Craig Loya