Monday, December 1

There will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars, and on earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Luke 21: 25-26

It sounds like a return to chaos, the end of the created order. This is no mere human catastrophe; it involves the sun and moon and stars and the earth and the waters and the heavens. The Oxford Annotated Bible gives four cross-references to verse 25 (Rev. 6:12-13; Isaiah 3:10; Joel 2:10; Zeph. 1:15) in which the earth quakes, the sun turns black and the moon turns to blood; the sun and the moon no longer shed light; heaven trembles; the day of wrath comes bringing ruin and devastation, darkness and gloom.

In other words, this idea of a cosmic cataclysm is found here and there throughout Scripture. It is part of our culture. The Day of Wrath (Dies Irae) becomes a thundering passage in Verdi's "Requiem" and Berlioz's "Fantastic Symphony." We get the idea that the sky is falling from more than Chicken Little's descending acorn.

In Handel's "Messiah" these scriptural passages belong to the bass soloist. In the Advent section he sings, "Thus says the Lord; yet once a little while and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry lands." A little later, "Darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people." These words are preludes to Advent proclamations: "The desire of all nations shall come" and "The Lord shall arise upon thee."

In the Holy Week section the bass returns with more devastating words, "Why do the nations so furiously rage together? The kings of the earth rise up." These words are a premonition of a final great conflict which culminates, however, with the Hallelujah Chorus and the affirmation "The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our Lord." The libretto for the "Messiah" keeps pairing devastation with glory.

So, too, the gloom and doom of Luke 21: 25-26 is followed by a glimpse of God's reign in verse 27. "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." There are other such glimpses of glory scattered throughout the Gospel lesson. When we hear the dire predictions of coming doom, do we also have a vision of the Reign of God beyond the darkness? How inclusive is that vision? Dare we sing God's reign into being?

The bass soloist is made to rant and rave as his notes run up and down the scale. We know whereof he sings: the world is shaken, the nations rage, kings (and other leaders) rise up. The sky is falling!

We listen uncomfortably to the bass, but then we are asked to stand and sing along with the Hallelujah Chorus. Dare we sing?

A Prayer/Hymn: # 515 "Out of the Depths" (Martin Luther's text for Psalm 130)

John Kruse

All contents copyright 2003 by the Wisconsin Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action. Permission is granted to United Methodist congregations, individuals and groups to reproduce and distribute this devotional without charge. All other use requires the advance permission of the editor.