4th Advent 2021, Who Is To Come

1^st Advent

Luke 21:25-36 

Ninetta Sombart

And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth, the nations will be constricted with anxiety and doubt with the advent of these spiritual revelations, as before a roaring sea and waves. And people will lose their inner strength of soul out of fear and foreboding of what is coming over the living earth: for the dynamic powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, in the sphere of life, with dynamic power and great radiant glory. 

And when these things begin to happen, stand upright and lift up [or, raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near. 

And he gave them a comparison, saying, "Observe [or, behold] the fig tree and all the trees when they burst into leaf. Seeing this, you know yourselves that summer is near. So also, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 

"Amen, the truth I say to you: this present age of being human shall not pass away until all has happened. 

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

"Guard yourselves lest the perceptive power of your hearts be smothered by an excess of food and drink and by over-concern with the cares and worries of life, and the light of these spirit events break upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. So be awake in the spirit at all times, praying, so that you may have the strength to live through all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." 

4^th Advent 2021

Luke 21:25-36 

The arrival of storms darkens the skies. But there are moments
when the ever-present sunlight breaks through. And then, if we look for it, the rainbow with its seven colors glistens against the backdrop of darkness. 

In ancient India, the god Indra used the rainbow to slay the serpent demon god. Later, in the Gilgamesh epic, the rainbow’s colors glisten in the fountain of life beside the tree of Immortality. And of course in Hebrew tradition, Yahweh places the rainbow spanning the heavens as a promise of future salvation. 

The rainbow’s placement in the sky and our delight in its ethereal colors make it seem more related to the human soul than to the earth. In the soul, there also lives a rainbow of many colors. The outermost color, red, is the color of loving warmth, of courage, and strength of will. At the other side, the innermost color is a barely visible royal purple, the color of the regal heights that the human being can and will attain in the future. It is the color of our innermost trust and faith in what is to come. 

Stephen B. Whatley

And in the center, at the heart of the rainbow, is the living green, the color of balance and of hope, the color of Christ. Our souls move through the colors. Starting with Christ’s living, balanced hope of green we can move out into the world with love and courage. And we can also move from hope’s green toward the inner depths from which our souls evolve toward the future. We will make it; we will move into the future; we will evolve. The rainbow is the seal of God’s promise. For planted in the royal purple of the soul are the seeds of our future selves. In patient trust we can know that one day these seeds of our future humanity will sprout into the living green of the tree of immortality. 

God placed the rainbow in the sky to remind all of humankind to abide in hope, especially in dark stormy times. The rainbow of the soul conquers the dragon of fear. And sometimes, up in the sky, we can all catch a glimpse of the colored halo of Him who was, who is, and who is to come.

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