Mystery of Faith

Advent looms with its dualism, eclipsed by the Black Friday to Christmas Eve shopping frenzy and the December 26 return and exchange (save your receipt). But Advent is Christmas v. Cosmology. Genesis v. Revelation. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. When? How? Historically or metaphorically? Scientifically or spiritually? Will the Eschaton come on clouds of glory with the holy angels, with the breaking of the Seventh Seal, with a bang or a whimper? When? Paul thought imminent; in the generations after him the Church backed off, organized, and started making permanent arrangements. Now only Harold Camping climbs a mountain to gaze at the sky. Camping, and those who take LeHaye and Jenkins as something other than lucrative, sensationalist fiction. 

Nevertheless, Advent proclaims both the Manger of Bethlehem and the Second Coming. So does the Eucharist in the mystery of faith:

 
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

We remember his death,
We proclaim his resurrection,
We await his coming in glory;

We celebrate his death and resurrection,
as we await the day of his coming.

And the Nicene Creed:

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. Are we serious? After Newton are we still serious? We Anglicans study Scripture, enjoy Hawking, and abide peacefully in the mystery of faith.

TW+